Jets beat Blackhawks, set mark with 8th straight win

[January 12, 2024]  Gabriel Vilardi and Nikolaj Ehlers scored in the final four minutes to lift Winnipeg to a 2-1 victory against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, giving the Jets a franchise-record eighth straight win.
 
Laurent Brossoit made 20 saves for the Jets, who also extended their point streak to 14 games (12-0-2). 

Jan 11, 2024; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets forward Alex Iafallo (9) and Chicago Blackhawks forward Joey Anderson (15) skate for the puck during the first period at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: Terrence Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Connor Murphy scored and Petr Mrazek made 26 saves for the Blackhawks, who have lost seven of eight (1-6-1) and 15 straight on the road (0-14-1).

Ehlers scored the go-ahead goal with 1:05 left, bringing the puck down the middle of the Chicago zone and scoring with a wrist shot from the inside edge of the right circle.

Vilardi scored off a centering pass from just above the goal line by Adam Lowry to tie the score 1-1 with 3:29 remaining.

The Jets have allowed two goals or fewer in the past 11 games and three or fewer in the past 31.

In the second period, Chicago's Lukas Reichel left a pass for Murphy as they went in opposite directions just inside the Winnipeg blue line. Murphy had room to skate to the top of the right circle and blast a slap shot past Brossoit for a 1-0 lead at 4:19.

Mrazek robbed Vilardi on a breakaway with just under six minutes left in the opening period to keep it scoreless. Ehlers made a flip pass from behind his own net as Chicago was making a line change to spring the breakaway.

Jets forward Mark Scheifele sustained a lower-body injury on the first shift of the second period and did not return. He leads Winnipeg with 41 points and 27 assists.

Playing in front of their second sellout of the season, the Jets went 0-for-4 on the power play. The Blackhawks came in with the 28th-ranked penalty kill in the NHL (77.1 percent).

The Jets switched up their defensive pairings in the second period, moving Josh Morrissey with Nate Schmidt and Dylan Samberg with Dylan DeMelo.

--Field Level Media

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