Jets defeat Senators, keep Central hopes alive

OTTAWA -- Blake Wheeler scored twice, and the Winnipeg Jets kept their hopes for first place in the Central Division alive with a 6-5 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Monday.
"It was kind of a ping pong game, almost," Jets forward Andrew Copp said. "Not a lot of clean plays made, a little bit of sloppiness, but huge that we can find a way to win those games."

\[WATCH: All Jets vs. Senators highlights\]
Copp had a goal and an assist, Mark Scheifele had two assists, and Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves for the Jets (49-20-10), who trail the Nashville Predators by five points with three games remaining.
"[Each line is] not just out there to hold water," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "They're out there to drive the pace of the game. Each line over the last month has gotten really hot and been the difference for a lot of wins for us, and we've been pretty fortunate to score the way we have."
Matt Duchene had two goals and an assist, Erik Karlsson had three assists, and Craig Anderson made 34 saves for the Senators (27-41-11).
"We showed some character coming back," Senators coach Guy Boucher said. "But we made too many mistakes defensively to allow us to win."
Wheeler extended the Jets lead to 5-3 when he one-timed a pass from Scheifele on a 2-on-1 at 12:46 of the second period.

Christian Wolanin scored his first NHL goal to make it 5-4 at 4:47 of the third period on a rebound in the slot.
"I was kind of starting to feel a little bit of pressure, having been pointless in six games." Wolanin said. "It was nice to get that, and I truly thought we were going to get back into the game with that, and we did, we just came a little short."
Mathieu Perreault scored a power-play goal at 14:38 to make it 6-4 before Duchene scored to cut it to 6-5 at 18:55 on a 5-on-3. The goal was Duchene's 200th of his career.
"It sucks that it comes in a loss," Duchene said. "But I wanted to get there before the end of the year. I kind of had it circled as a goal to try and get to."
Copp gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 2:42 of the first period. Josh Morrissey scored to make it 2-0 at 11:36 with a shot from the left point past a screened Anderson.

Wheeler scored 21 seconds later to make it 3-0 on a one-timer from the left circle. Thomas Chabot made it 3-1 at 18:26.
Duchene cut it to 3-2 at 1:28 of the second period with a power-play goal after his pass redirected off Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba's stick past Hellebuyck.
Brandon Tanev gave Winnipeg a 4-2 lead with a shorthanded goal at 6:25. Chabot made it 4-3 at 11:58, scoring into an open net off a rebound.

Goal of the game

Perreault's goal at 14:38 of the third period.

Save of the game

Hellebuyck's save on Mike Hoffman at 19:41 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Tanev's goal at 6:25 of the second period.

They said it

"You almost forget how it feels to score goals, really. It's certainly a great feeling. Ended up being the game-winner. It was a big goal, so I'm really happy I finally found the back of the net." -- Jets forward Mathieu Perreault on scoring his first goal in 20 games
"I'm a social guy. I read a lot of things and I'm not reading too much into it. But obviously, the word is out there from you guys. It's not something I've thought about going into this game, and it's not something I'm going to think about for a while." -- Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson on whether it was his last home game in a Senators uniform

Need to know

It was Hellebuyck's 42nd win, tying him with Mike Richter (1993-94, New York Rangers) for most in a season by a United State-born goalie in NHL history, one behind Tom Barrasso (1992-93, Pittsburgh Penguins). ... The Jets are 8-1-0 in their past nine games. … The Senators are 1-8-0 in their past nine. … Karlsson has 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in the past nine games. … Jets forward Patrik Laine doesn't have a point in the past seven games.

What's next

Jets: At the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, TSN3, NHL.TV)
Senators:At the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SN360, SN1, TVAS, MSG-B, NHL.TV)