Blue Jackets' comeback attempt falls short, lose to Winnipeg 6-4
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) -- Mathieu Perrault had a goal and three assists, Dustin Byfuglien and Drew Stafford each had a goal and two assists and the Winnipeg Jets held off the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-4 on Thursday night.
Rookie Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves and improved to 4-0-0.
Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry and Blake Wheeler also scored for Winnipeg. Bryan Little had a pair of assists and Scheifele also had one.
Cam Atkinson scored consecutive goals to pull Columbus within 5-4 in the third period before Wheeler scored into an empty net. Boone Jenner and Scott Hartnell each added their 12th goals of the season, and Alexander Wennberg had three assists.
Curtis McElhinney stopped 29 shots for Columbus and fell to 0-5-1. McElhinney started in place of Sergei Bobrovsky, who suffered a groin strain on Tuesday and is expected to be out three weeks.
The Jets scored three goals on their first five shots.
Scheifele picked up his team-leading 11th goal of the season 27 seconds into the game.
After taking a shot near the top of the circle that banged off the glass behind the net, Scheifele went to the net and banked the bouncing puck off McElhinney with a backhand.
Just 1:55 later, Lowry scored his first goal of the season by redirecting Byfuglien's shot from the point at 2:22.
The pair of goals was the second fastest to begin a game in the Jets/Thrashers' franchise history, according to Elias. The fastest was 1:22 in 2002.
Columbus didn't get its first shot at Hellebuyck until almost 4 minutes into the period.
The Jets made it 3-0 at 10:48 on the power play when Byfuglien's long shot went under a partially screened McElhinney.
Columbus finally scored after Hellebuyck missed sweeping the puck out of the crease and Jenner banged it in at 15:38.
With 56 seconds left in the second period, Hartnell used a rebound during a power play to put the puck past Hellebuyck. It was the first time this season Hellebuyck had given up more than one goal in a game.
The Jets made it 5-2 on goals from Stafford and Perreault by 7:36 of the third period.
Atkinson then netted his pair of goals, the second with an extra attacker at 18:16. Wheeler finished the scoring at 19:15.
NOTES: Winnipeg heads to Chicago on Friday night to face the Blackhawks. It's the seventh back-to-back set for the Jets this season. They're 2-3-1 in the second games so far. ... Columbus hosts the New York Islanders on Saturday night.
