Ehlers has 3 points, Jets score 6 to pull away from Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and two assists for the Winnipeg Jets in a 6-1 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Friday.

Josh Morrissey and Kyle Connor each had a goal and an assist, and Connor Hellebuyck made 22 saves for Winnipeg (44-16-4), which won its second straight following a 4-1 victory at the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday after losing its previous three games (0-2-1).

"We didn't like our little stretch there of losing and we wanted to come on this road trip and kind of get back to our game," Morrissey said. "Last night and tonight, I thought we played really close to our game. There were little stretches like the start of the third period, where they got a little momentum. But that's what our team has done all year. Just be calm and rely on our structure and system in that situation and we played really well.

"It was a big back to back with two wins for us in tough buildings."

Dawson Mercer scored, and Jacob Markstrom made 29 saves for New Jersey (33-25-6), which has lost three in a row and is 7-8-0 in its past 15 games.

"They're a great team and they play the right way ... even at the end of the game they were doing the simple things right," Mercer said. "In saying that, I believe we're a good team too and it's disappointing for us to have that result when I think we can do better."

Alex Iafallo gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 18:17 of the first period off a backhand on a rebound in the slot.

Morrissey extended it to 2-0 with a power-play goal at 3:48 of the second period on a snap shot from the slot.

Ehlers pushed it to 3-0 at 19:30 when he took a pass from Dylan DeMelo at the bottom of the right circle, skated to the high slot and scored on a snap shot inside the left post.

"The power play has been a strength for us all year," Morrissey said. "I don't find myself in the slot too often, but it came right out on my stick and I just had to not miss the net. It was nice to get that second goal, and then the huge third goal at the end of the second period from Ehlers that gave us some more room."

Mercer cut it to 3-1 on a one-timer from the left face-off circle 31 seconds into the third period.

"We're trying to score goals, and we need offense, but when we're going at our best, we play with the process," New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. "I can't tell you how many goals we've scored where one line does the work, building momentum for our team, and they change, and a new line comes on and they reap the rewards. We need lines to build momentum."

Adam Lowry made it 4-1 at 11:56 after he stole the puck from defenseman Simon Nemec in the left circle and scored on a wrist shot.

"Obviously, you don't love the first five, six minutes of the third, but I think we were able to kind of weather their push and fortunately get a couple bounces and put that game out of reach," Lowry said.

Connor scored from the left circle at 14:21 for a 5-1 lead before Cole Perfetti scored on a shot at the right post at 16:55 for the 6-1 final.

"Goals four, five and six; the youngest player on the ice (Nemec) had a real tough night," Keefe said. "To me it's not reflective of our team and our game."

Brandon Tanev had two hits in 11:28 of ice time in his Jets debut this season after the forward was acquired in a trade with the Seattle Kraken on Friday. He played for Winnipeg previously from 2016-2019.

"I've been smiling all day," Tanev said. "It's a group I know very well, a city I know well. They've had great success this year so I'm just trying to come in and do whatever I can."

NOTES: Morrissey has four straight 10-goal seasons to tie Dustin Byfuglien (four from 2013-14 to 2016-17) for the most by a Jets/Atlanta Thrashers defenseman. ... Connor became the second-fastest player in Jets/Thrashers history to 80 points in a season (64 games) behind Ilya Kovalchuk (61 games, 2005-06). ... Brian Dumoulin had two hits in 16:17 of ice time in his Devils debut after the defenseman was acquired in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday. ... Defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic signed a five-year, $20 million contract with the Devils on Friday.