Hellebuyck makes 19 saves, Jets shut out Canadiens to sweep two-game set

MONTREAL --Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves for his second shutout, and the Winnipeg Jets won their third straight, 5-0 against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday.

Hellebuyck's 22nd NHL shutout is the first by any Winnipeg team at Montreal.
"I think a shutout, no matter where it comes, is awesome, especially in this league," Hellebuyck said. "Most shutouts are a team shutout and tonight was no different. The guys are blocking shots and keeping them to the outside and letting me see the shots altogether and really applying the pressure in the O-zone. I thought we were a good team tonight."
Nikolaj Ehlers, Andrew Copp and Mathieu Perreault each had a goal and an assist for Winnipeg (25-13-3), which swept the two-game set to begin a five-game road trip. The Jets are 7-2-1 in their past 10, including a 4-2 win Thursday.
"I think the best part of the game was, for us, that we improved from our first game in here," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "We had given up a fair amount off the rush. And we were much, much better at it. I also think we got stronger with it as the game went on. The areas that we thought we needed to improve from game one we did."
Jake Allen made 20 saves in his third start in four days for Montreal (17-12-9), which has lost each of the three games goalie Carey Price has missed because of a lower-body injury.
"I feel that tonight we came out a little bit on our heels, being scared of making those mistakes," Canadiens coach Dominique Ducharme said. "But being smart doesn't mean that you have to be passive. I thought we were a little passive. Yes, we were not giving much, but a little passive. Scoring a first goal in that kind of game probably would give energy to our guys, and getting scored on did the opposite, so I didn't like that reaction."
Paul Stastny gave Winnipeg a 1-0 lead at 10:13 of the second period. Allen raced from his crease to poke the puck away before Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois could reach it, but Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry turned it over to Stastny, whose shot went in off Allen.

Ehlers scored for a second straight game to make it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 16:57.
After ending a 10-game goal drought Thursday, he scored his 17th with a wrist shot from the left point after Dubois won a face-off and Copp passed the puck to Neal Pionk, who set up Ehlers with a pass from the right point.
The Canadiens challenged for goalie interference because Perreault made contact with Allen's glove, but the goal was upheld and Montreal was penalized for delay of game for the unsuccessful challenge.
"He clips Jake's glove there as he's going to catch it and it obviously ended up in the net," Canadiens forward Eric Staal said. "And they felt that no, it was unintentional, but guys are smart, so credit Perreault for doing a little drive-by and being in the right spot. But that was one of those that a lot of times can go either way."
Derek Forbort put the Jets up 3-0 at 19:31 with a shot from the right side that went in off Allen's glove. It was his first goal in 31 games.
"We're spending too much time in our zone, but it starts up ice," Ducharme said. "We need to be better [at] creating a block of five [who are] harder to play against in the neutral zone so they don't get those entries. And we've got to be killing quicker in our zone."

Copp increased the lead to 4-0 with a power-play goal at 7:17 of the third period. Perreault made it 5-0 at 10:42 after Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber turned over the puck in front of the net.
"Tonight was an overall team game," Hellebuyck said. "We stuck to our game. Our details were right. We played hard and we really took it to them. They're a good team and they really pushed back. I think we just continued to push and push until we got what we needed."
NOTES: The first iteration of the Winnipeg Jets (from 1979-96, before moving to the Phoenix Coyotes) did not have a shutout at Montreal. The Atlanta Thrashers did not have a shutout at Montreal playing from 1999-2011, and Winnipeg did not have one since relocating for the 2011-12 season. … Canadiens defenseman Otto Leskinen made his season debut on a pair with rookie Alexander Romanov after playing five games for Montreal last season. He had one hit in 16:23. … Hellebuyck is 20-10-3, the fifth straight season he has won at least 20 games. … Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey had his 100th NHL assist in his 329th game.
NHL.com staff writer Tim Campbell contributed to this report