Wheeler has 2 goals, assist for Jets in win against Blackhawks

WINNIPEG -- Blake Wheeler had two goals and an assist for the Winnipeg Jets in a 4-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Canada Life Centre on Saturday.

"Our game is predicated on being able to transition the puck fast and try to get our forwards moving," Wheeler said. "Obviously, our team moves well, and when we're moving like that it can create some time and space, and that is where we can make some plays."
Josh Morrissey had a goal and an assist, and Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves for the Jets (33-19-1), who were playing their first game since Jan. 30.
"Certainly better than the end of that stretch in January (1-3-0), a tough couple months schedule-wise," Wheeler said. "The last two days of practice we had a lot of life, so you could sense we would come out with some good jump tonight."
Tyler Johnson scored, and Petr Mrazek made 24 saves for the Blackhawks (16-30-5), who defeated the Arizona Coyotes 4-3 in overtime on Friday.
"[Winnipeg] is a tough team," Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. "They're a very talented team offensively. The couple mistakes we made in the second period, they really capitalized on. … I thought we had some good looks at the end, even 6-on-5, but Hellebuyck's a good goaltender and they play a real strong structure so we just couldn't get that next one in."

Morrissey gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 1:16 of the second period, skating in from the point and scoring with a backhand from the high slot.
"We get out of that first period and, again, we're not happy with how we finished the period, so it was huge to get that goal to give us a boost and get us going again," Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. "[Morrissey] steps up again and makes the big play. It was a [heck] of a play and a great goal."
Wheeler made it 2-0 on a power play at 7:33 when Kyle Connor's one-timer deflected in off his skate. The goal came 47 seconds after a 5-on-3 opportunity expired.
"It was big," Wheeler said. "Obviously, the 5-on-3 for an extended period of time, I thought we did a really good job on that. I mean, we had some really Grade-A looks, their goalie made a couple of really, really good saves. We could have had a couple there, and it was nice to keep some pucks in and win some battles, and those little things tend to pay off when you're able to hem in the PK for an extended period of time."

Wheeler set up Mark Scheifele for a one-timer on a rush to extend the lead to 3-0 at 12:09.
"Whenever I get the puck, I am always looking for him," Wheeler said. "We've scored a lot of goals that way over the years, and when I get that puck on the right side my first look is to see where he is, and he was kind of coming right down the slot. You give him the puck there."
Johnson cut it to 3-1 at 2:08 of the third period, sprawling to sweep a loose puck inside the right post.
"I thought they were taking it to us," Johnson said. "I think we didn't do a good job of getting pucks in and forechecking. Winnipeg did a great job of breaking it out and they're really good in the neutral zone, so they were better than us."
Wheeler scored into an empty net at 19:35 for the 4-1 final.
"They might have got a little bit of momentum [off their goal] but I don't think we took the foot off the gas at all," Hellebuyck said. "I mean, we did just have a long break and we're getting our legs under us. But I thought it was a good 60 [minutes]. They've got some good scorers over there. You've got to imagine they're going to push back at some point, so that was their push."

NOTES: Wheeler's 41st game-winning goal passed Ilya Kovalchuk for second in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history. Connor is first with 42. … Wheeler's 52nd power-play goal tied Patrik Laine for fourth in franchise history, behind Kovalchuk (115), Scheifele (69) and Bryan Little (58), and his 54th three-point game tied Kovalchuk for second behind Scheifele (58). … Jets forward Mason Appleton returned after missing 38 games following wrist surgery. He had one shot and two hits in 15:57. … Morrissey's 44 assists tied Toby Enstrom (2009-10) for the most in a season by a defenseman in Jets history. … Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi was minus-2 with four hits in 11:53 after missing 20 games with a facial fracture.