Connor Hellebuyck makes 34 saves in Jets win

CHICAGO --Connor Hellebuyck made 34 saves to help the Winnipeg Jets defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 at United Center on Tuesday.
The Jets (17-17-3) have won the first three games against the Blackhawks (22-10-5) this season, including two in a row in Chicago. Hellebuyck made 85 saves on 87 shots in the three victories.
"It was the team in front of me," said Hellebuyck, who is 3-1-0 in four career starts against the Blackhawks. "They get a piece of everything. It slows down the game and kind of ruins [the Blackhawks'] flow. We just bring our game and we play the right way. We must like this rink too."

WATCH: All Blackhawks vs. Jets highlights
Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele and Drew Stafford scored for the Jets, who have won two straight games and four of their past five (4-1-0). Defenseman Jacob Trouba had two assists.
Artem Anisimov scored in his return to the Chicago lineup after missing three games because of an upper-body injury. Corey Crawford made 31 saves for the Blackhawks, who have lost three in a row (0-2-1).
"They were fast and quick, and they have a good forecheck, but we just needed to be sharper," Anisimov said. "We just needed to be prepared from the drop of the puck and be ready to play. That's it."

Winnipeg took a 2-0 lead in the first period. Wheeler scored off the rebound of Trouba's shot from the right point at 8:27 to make it 1-0, and Scheifele deflected Trouba's shot through traffic to make it 2-0 at 14:48.
Hellebuyck made 13 saves in the first, when shots on goal were 13-13. He had 12 in the second period and eight in the third.
Chicago pulled within 2-1 on Anisimov's goal at 7:37 of the second period. Anisimov scored after getting a pass in front of the net from Patrick Kane. Artemi Panarin got the secondary assist to extend his point streak to eight games.
Crawford's best period was the second, when he made 12 saves, including one with 4:38 left to stop a breakaway by former Blackhawks defenseman Dustin Byfuglien.
Stafford scored at 2:27 of the third to put the Jets up 3-1.
"It is one heck of a team over there," Wheeler said. "We played these guys hard. They seem to bring out the best in us. We seem to bring our 'A' game when we come into this building, and we are pretty committed to playing the right way."

Goal of the game

Scheifele skated to the front of the net and tipped Trouba's shot past Crawford for his 15th goal.

Save of the game

Crawford bailed out Kane on Byfuglien's breakaway in the second period. Byfuglien stole the puck from Kane with less than five minutes left and took off for the Blackhawks net, but Crawford stopped his attempt with his pads.

Unsung performance of the game

Stafford played 8:58 but helped Winnipeg's fourth line make a big impact. Along with his goal, Stafford had three shots on goal, three hits and one blocked shot, and he got 1:36 in shorthanded ice time.

Highlight of the game

Hellebuyck made back-to-back saves late in the second period to protect a 2-1 lead. He stopped Vinnie Hinostroza with his stick with 3:19 left before denying Ryan Hartman's attempt off the rebound.

They said it

"No matter what team you play, if you have good games, the confidence builds. It is nice, growing up a [Detroit Red Wings] fan, beating Chicago though. That's nice." -- Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who is from Commerce, Michigan
"You look at the last three games, there were some good stretches in all of them, but not what we were looking for. On home ice, we gave away some valuable points in the standings."-- Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville

Need to know

The Blackhawks played without injured right wing Marian Hossa (upper body) for the second straight game. Hossa could miss the next two games. … Kane needs two points to reach 700 for his NHL career. … Winnipeg forward Brandon Tanev missed his second game in a row with an undisclosed injury. … The Jets must remove at least two players from their roster by Wednesday afternoon, after the NHL roster freeze for Christmas ends.

What's next

Jets:Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, FS-O, NHL.TV)
Blackhawks: At the Nashville Predators on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, CSN-CH, NHL.TV)