Jets score eight in win against Hurricanes, move into first in Central

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Winnipeg Jets moved into first place in the Central Division with an 8-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Friday.

Laurent Brossoit made 28 saves for Winnipeg (40-23-4), which is one point ahead of the Nashville Predators in the Central. Andrew Copp scored two goals, and Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and two assists. Fifteen Jets had at least one point, seven had a multipoint game, and all four lines scored.
"When we're able to play four lines, we can play a really fast, heavy game," captain Blake Wheeler said. "That's what we want to get to every night."
WATCH: [All Jets vs. Hurricanes highlights]
The Hurricanes (36-24-7) have lost two games in a row after winning five straight. They are tied in points with the Montreal Canadiens for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference and two points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Curtis McElhinney allowed eight goals on 29 shots in his third regulation loss (10-3-1) in his past 14 starts.
"We certainly haven't had one of those all year," Carolina captain Justin Williams said. "It's tough to even keep your head up in this interview because that was not us. You name any play there, [Winnipeg] won it."
The Jets, who have won three of their past four games after going 1-4-1 in their previous six, scored four goals in the first period.
Kevin Hayes made it 1-0 lead at 2:58. After Brett Pesce blocked Hayes' shot from the slot, Hayes batted the puck out of midair for his 16th goal of the season, his second with Winnipeg since being acquired in a trade from the New York Rangers on Feb. 25.

Wheeler drove the slot, held off Nino Nieddereiter after a pass from Patrik Laine, and scored to make it 2-0 at 5:48.
A strong Jets forecheck resulted in a 3-0 lead. Kyle Connor's pass from the right corner connected with Ben Chiarot, who scored from the slot at 9:16.
Hayes sent a backhand from along the end boards to Ehlers between the face-off circles for a one-timer to make it 4-0 at 18:44.
"[Ehlers] is a great player, him and Kyle Connor," Hayes said. "They're both elite players in this league and easy and fun to play with. Tonight, we played pretty well."
Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice sees chemistry developing between Hayes and his linemates.
"For [Hayes], he's a real smart positional player, and he's got a good set of hands," he said. "Having [Ehlers and Connor], who are as fast as there are in the League, can open up some room. Both those guys like to shoot the puck, Kevin likes to pass it, so it looks like it's got something going."

Copp scored off the rush, finishing the rebound of Jack Roslovic's shot for a 5-0 lead at 19:29 of the second period.
Greg McKegg made it 5-1 at 9:37 of the third when he redirected a Calvin de Haan pass at the left hash marks.
Wheeler set up Connor for a backhand-to-forehand move in front of the net for a power-play goal to make it 6-1 at 13:45.
Copp scored his second of the game with one minute remaining to make it 7-1, and Adam Lowry scored with 21 seconds left for the 8-1 final.
"I have to process it a little more, but obviously it is something we don't want to see and isn't acceptable," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I haven't had one of those this year. We have had a couple bad games, but nothing like that. It was shocking, and (I) didn't expect that at all."

They said it

"All these games leading up to the playoffs are (like) playoff games. You want to get the habits right. [The Hurricanes] are a playoff team, especially since December, one of the best teams in the League. To come into a building like this and quiet it pretty quickly, it was nice." -- Jets goalie Laurent Brossoit
"We addressed it a little bit after the game, but what happened in the first 10 minutes of the game and what happened in the last three minutes of the game was totally inexcusable, something that, quite frankly, we're all ashamed of. Leaving our goaltender, who gives us his all, all the time, three late goals. It was chance after chance after chance. We all owe him an apology for that." -- Hurricanes captain Justin Williams

Need to know

The Jets outscored the Hurricanes 11-2 in two games this season, including a 3-1 win in Winnipeg on Oct. 14. ... Connor has 11 multipoint games this season. ... Nieddereiter was minus-6, the worst rating in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers history, and Sebastian Aho was minus-5. ... Carolina defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk played his 300th NHL game. ... Hurricanes forward Micheal Ferland left the game at 1:32 of the third period after a collision with Jets defenseman Dmitry Kulikov.

What's next

Jets: At the Washington Capitals on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN, NBCSWA, NHL.TV)
Hurricanes: At the Nashville Predators on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, FS-CR, NHL.TV)