Jets pull away to top Canucks for ninth straight time

WINNIPEG -- Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist when the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Vancouver Canucks for the ninth straight time, 4-1 at Bell MTS Place on Friday.

Jack Roslovic, Mark Scheifele and Adam Lowry scored, and Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves for the Jets (9-7-1), who scored four unanswered goals and extended their point streak to four games (3-0-1).
"I think as the game went on we just got better all around," Connor said. "More speed, I'm sure you hear coach Paul Maurice] talk about it. I think that's when we're at our best. The hands follow. You start to think the game at a higher pace, and you see plays more often too."
***[WATCH: [All Canucks vs. Jets highlights]*
J.T. Miller scored, and Thatcher Demko made 31 saves for the Canucks (9-5-3), who are winless in their past three (0-2-1).
"We had eight games in a row where we got points (Oct. 20-Nov. 5), and this game might have been one of those games where we might have got a point," Canucks coach Travis Green said. "You've got to be honest with your team. They didn't play last night and we did, and we played a pretty good hockey game."

Vancouver lost 5-2 at the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
Miller made it 1-0 on a redirection at 6:53 of the second period.
Roslovic tied the game 1-1 on the power play, scoring on his own rebound at 11:54.
"Their power play, give them credit, they got a lot of momentum off that power play," Green said. "Not only did they score, but I think they had seven or eight scoring chances just on the power play alone right there. They got a little juice off it and got a little momentum."
Scheifele gave Winnipeg a 2-1 lead at 16:54 of the second period.
After Hellebuyck sprawled to make a glove save on Bo Horvat near the right goal post at 13:27 of the third period, Connor made it 3-1 on a breakaway eight seconds later.
"Obviously those are huge goals to put you up by two," Jets captain Blake Wheeler said of the sequence. "That puts you in the driver's seat. [Hellebuyck] was outstanding when we needed him to be."

Horvat said, "I would like to have that one back, for sure. He made a heck of a save on me. If I bury that it's 2-2, and all of a sudden they go down and score to make it a two-goal hockey game. It's frustrating, but I thought we did some really good things tonight and I thought we played pretty well for the majority of the game, and it's unfortunate that we didn't get the two points."
Lowry scored into an empty net for the 4-1 final at 18:15.

They said it

"We had a few chances in the third when it was 2-1 to tie the game. Their goalie made a couple great saves, an [Elias Pettersson] backdoor [attempt] and Jake [Virtanen] had a breakaway. And then right before they scored their third, he made a [heck] of a save on Bo." -- Canucks defenseman Chris Tanev
"I think we had a little bit of an advantage. Those guys played in Chicago last night. That's a real tough turnaround. With that being said, good on us for taking advantage of it and playing fast, not playing down to maybe the level of a team that obviously played 24 hours ago and had to travel last night." -- Jets captain Blake Wheeler

Need to know

The Canucks last defeated the Jets on Dec. 20, 2016, a 4-1 victory at Vancouver. … Connor has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past four games. … The Canucks are 1-2-2 in their past five games after going 8-1-1 in their previous 10. … Vancouver defenseman Alexander Edler had three shots, three blocks and two hits in a game-high 25:58 of ice time. … Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers had five shots, two blocks and was minus-1 in 19:54 in his first game against the Jets since signing a five-year contract with Vancouver as a free agent July 1. He played the previous five seasons with Winnipeg. ... Jets forward Joona Luoto played 8:43 in his NHL debut.

What's next

Canucks: Host the New Jersey Devils on Sunday (4 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SNP, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Jets: Host the Dallas Stars on Sunday (2 p.m. ET; TSN3, FS-SW, NHL.TV)