Morrissey has 3 points, Jets hold off Canucks to end 3-game slide

VANCOUVER -- Josh Morrissey had a goal and two assists and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 at Rogers Arena on Tuesday.

Alex Iafallo and Nino Niederreiter each had a goal and assist and Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves for the Jets (10-6-0), who ended a three-game losing streak that started a six-game road trip.

“Everybody wanted to step up when you lose a few games in a row. We had a great meeting this morning, actually as a group, and just kind of talked about what our identity is,” Morrissey said. “I felt like everybody raised their intensity level, and as a leader on the team you want to be part of leading that charge.”

Quinn Hughes had three assists and forward Elias Pettersson had two assists for Vancouver (8-9-1), which has one win in the past four games (1-2-1).

Canucks No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko started after not dressing for back-to-back games over the weekend but left with a lower-body injury after giving up three goals on eight shots in the first period. Kevin Lankinen made 20 saves on 21 shots in relief.

A team spokesperson said the injury was not related to what kept Demko out on the weekend.

“Lower body,” coach Adam Foote said, “and we’ll find out tomorrow the time.”

Hughes also left at 9:09 of the second period favoring his left arm after taking a hooking penalty trying to tie up Jets forward Mark Scheifele on a rush chance. But the Canucks captain and top defenseman returned at 13:19, just as the team went on a power play.

“I don't know, weird play, just one of those weird ones,” said Hughes, adding trainers were “taping me up” when he heard they were going on the power play. “I think I'm all good.”

Winnipeg went ahead 1-0 at 4:57 of the first period after Morrissey skated onto a loose puck above the left face-off dot unchecked and sent a backdoor pass through the legs of defenseman Filip Hronek and off the skate of Jonathan Toews driving to the far edge of the crease.

Kiefer Sherwood tied it 1-1 with his team-leading 11th goal of the season at 10:21, skating down the left wing behind Hughes and finishing the give-and-go by snapping Hughes' second drop pass from below the goal line past Hellebuyck’s glove on the far side.

Jake DeBrusk put Vancouver ahead 2-1 with a power-play goal on a partial break, taking a stretch pass from Hughes and firing a low short side shot past the blocker of Hellebuyck from just above the left face-off dot. It was DeBrusk’s third straight game with a goal and fourth in the past five games after scoring twice in the first 13 games.

Morrissey tied it 2-2 on a power play at 14:38 with a slap shot from the point that Sherwood, who had just missed a clearing attempt, deflected up and over the glove of his own goalie.

Niederreiter scored 15 seconds later to make it 3-2 when Adam Lowry’s sharp-angle shot went off Demko’s pad and bounced in off the Jets forward on other side of the crease.

“They get two quick ones and we answer back so I liked our battle, our compete and I liked us getting pucks below the goal line and sustaining some shifts,” Lowry said. “We did a real good job of protecting the middle and when we needed him, Hellebuyck made some huge stops for us.”

Gabriel Vilardi made it 4-2 on a power play 48 seconds into the third period, spinning with his back to the net in the slot and chipping a blind backhand high past Lankinen’s blocker.

“Pretty unreal,” Morrissey said. “He's so crafty in the slot and around the net.”

Winnipeg finished 2-for-4 on the power play after going 0-for-14 the previous four games.

“It was big,” Morrissey said. “We want to be difference makers in a positive way for the group and whether it's, of course, trying to score goals, but also trying to bring momentum and build momentum for the shifts after if we don't score. So, I thought we did a good job of both units going out there competing. They're pretty aggressive on the kill, so kind of just taking what they give you, and we had some good looks. It was nice to get a few.”

The Canucks penalty kill came in ranked 31st in the NHL (67.9 percent) and has now given up 10 goals on 21 chances over the past seven games.

“We had a good game,” Foote said. “I hate to talk about numbers, but we out-chanced them again 5-on-5 and we had a missed clear on a PK and it hits our stick and goes in. We were in a good pressure situation on the one and killing pretty good and then we got too spread out and they got that goal. And that’s the game.”

Brock Boeser scored on a rebound at 18:30 with Lankinen on the bench for an extra attacker to make it 4-3, but Iafallo -- playing in his 600th NHL game -- scored into an empty net at 19:12 for the 5-3 final.

Lankinen has now played in four straight games but is ready for more action.

“You got to be ready at all times, and it's part of my preparation to be ready every single night, whenever I get called upon and play my best game,” Lankinen said. “It’s what you want to do as a goalie. You want to be the guy. You want to carry the load, help the team win, and I've been feeling really good, and hopefully we're going to get some more results here soon.”

NOTES: The Jets lost defenseman Haydn Fleury to an upper-body injury after one shift in the second period but there was no timeline after the game. … Canucks forward Conor Garland played 24:24 in his 500th NHL game. … Morrissey has 306 career assists, passing Bryan Little for fourth most in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history. … The first period was Hughes 39th with multiple points in his career, tying Thomas Gradin for third most in Canucks history, behind only Henrik Sedin (79) and Daniel Sedin (49).