Hofer makes 33 saves to help Blues shut out Jets

ST. LOUIS -- Joel Hofer made 33 saves in his fourth NHL start for the St. Louis Blues, a 3-0 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Enterprise Center on Sunday.

Thomas Greiss made one save for the combined shutout after relieving Hofer for 2:36 in the second period due to a skate issue.
"No, it's all right," Hofer said regarding sharing the shutout. "I don't really care about that. I'm just obviously happy to be here and to get the win in front of the home crowd. It was great.
"I don't even know, I guess [the skate blade] fell out. I didn't even see the play actually and how it happened. We obviously got it fixed quick and got back in there quick."
Hofer, who also made 32 saves in a 5-2 win at the Washington Capitals on Friday, was recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis on Thursday after Jordan Binnington was suspended for two games for roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct against the Minnesota Wild.
"There's obviously a little more motivation [being from Winnipeg], but I thought the team played really well in front of me," Hofer said. "Obviously, limited them to a lot of outside chances and it was nice to get the win, especially against those guys."

Kasperi Kapanen had a goal and an assist for the Blues (31-33-5), who have won two straight and four of six.
"I thought the whole team, though, we did a great job of protecting our slot area and high-danger shots," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "[Hofer] was good. Again, solid around the net. No rebounds and things like that, so it's good."
Connor Hellebuyck made 14 saves for the Jets (39-29-3), who were coming off a 3-2 overtime win at the Nashville Predators on Saturday but remained four points ahead of the Calgary Flames for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
"We came out of the gate great," Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. "Had the forecheck going, we hit the crossbar on a tip, we were jamming the net, we were doing all of the things we had talked about, and then they go down and score. We didn't handle it very well from that point.
"We did have some opportunities; we didn't capitalize on them. They're a big defense, all those guys are big and strong, and we had a tough time battling through them."
Kapanen gave the Blues to a 1-0 lead at 4:04 of the first period when he redirected Nick Leddy's pass to the right post past Hellebuyck. It was his second straight game with a goal.
"I've been happy with him, with his game," Berube said of Kapanen. "He had some good looks in the first period, too. He's been pretty solid all around. Defensively, I said his awareness is good and he plays good 'D.' Offensively, I think he's gaining more confidence as it goes along, to be honest with you."
Later in the period, St. Louis killed off a four-minute power play for Winnipeg to preserve the one-goal lead.
"Whenever you get a power play, you want to at least create some momentum, and we weren't able to do that," Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers said. "We did have some chances today, but it's the second time in three games that we haven't scored (3-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday). We need to get more shots, better shots to the net, and we've got to clean up those rebounds."

Nathan Walker made it 2-0 at 10:34 of the second period when he one-timed a cross-crease pass from Justin Faulk, who made a rush up the left side of the ice.
"Faulk made a great play," Walker said. "I knew he was probably going to throw it backdoor, so I just tried to go there and just get a stick on it."
Vrana pushed it to 3-0 at 12:00 of the third period on a breakaway. It was his fourth goal in the past four games.
NOTES: Vrana has five points (four goals, one assist) during a four-game point streak, and six points (five goals, one assist) in seven games with St. Louis since being acquired from the Detroit Red Wings on March 3. ... Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich had his 11-game point streak end. ... Each team went 0-for-3 on the power play.