Connor Hellebuyck records 35th career shutout as Jets beat Sharks 1-0

Connor Hellebuyck records 35th career shutout as Jets beat Sharks 1-0

WINNIPEG — Connor Hellebuyck made 17 saves to record his third shutout of the season, and 35th of his career, in the Winnipeg Jets’ 1-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.

Hellebuyck also registered his 30th consecutive game of allowing three or fewer goals against, becoming the 10th goaltender in NHL history to achieve that mark in the regular season.

Morgan Barron scored for the Jets (32-14-5), who won a second straight game after losing a season-high five in a row.

Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 39 shots for the Sharks (14-33-5), who last played Jan. 31 and are 4-2-2 in their last eight games.

The teams put up some interesting streaks for shots on goal in the first period and early into the second.

The Sharks had four shots by the 4:35 mark of the opening frame while the Jets were blanked.

Winnipeg then rattled off 15 straight shots on goal, with Barron scoring on the 13th one at 17:23 after Neal Pionk’s shot was tipped by Adam Lowry and then deflected off Barron.

Barron’s goal was his ninth of the season, setting a career-high in his 51st game. He had eight goals through 70 games last season.

Winnipeg added two more shots to finish the frame 15-4 in shots on goals.

The Jets got one more shot early in the second period before San Jose recorded its fifth one at 1:30, going a span of 16:55 without a shot on goal.

Jets forward Nino Niederreiter had four good chances to score in the second but was denied by Kahkonen.

Sharks forward Anthony Duclair looked like he might have scored late in the period, but the play was reviewed and it was confirmed the puck didn’t cross the line before it hit Mark Scheifele, who got behind Hellebuyck in the net to help out the goalie.

Winnipeg led 31-12 in shots on goal after the middle frame.

San Jose forward Nico Sturm went slowly to the dressing room 8:50 into the third after he was checked hard into the boards by Jets defenceman Logan Stanley and his head hit the ice.

NOTES

The Jets are 8-for-8 on the penalty kill in past three games. … Winnipeg has gone eight consecutive games without scoring on the power play (0-for-21). … San Jose has not allowed a power-play goal in its past five games, going 12-for-12. … It was the first game this season that the Jets had a completely healthy roster with no one on the injured-reserve list. … San Jose was without forwards Logan Couture (groin) and Tomas Hertl, who had knee surgery Monday to clean up cartilage, but forward Mikael Granlund was back after missing the previous six games.

UP NEXT

Sharks: Travel to Calgary for a Thursday game against the Flames.

Jets: Play in Vancouver Saturday against the Canucks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2024.

Judy Owen, The Canadian Press