OTTAWA — The Winnipeg Jets extended their franchise-record win streak to 11 games, topping the Ottawa Senators 4-1 Wednesday night.
Winnipeg (42-14-3) got two goals in quick succession at the midpoint of the first period from Cole Perfetti and Mason Appleton that pushed the surging Jets out of reach, taking advantage of some ill-timed mistakes from Ottawa.
The struggling Senators (29-25-4) have now lost five straight.
In net, it was a battle of the last two Vezina Trophy winners in Linus Ullmark, who won it with the Boston Bruins in 2022-23 and Connor Hellebuyck, who won it last year for Winnipeg. Hellebuyck made 24 saves for the Jets while Ullmark stopped 36 shots in a losing effort.
Ullmark is still searching for his first win since Dec. 19 and he’s winless in four starts since coming back from injury.
Kyle Connor potted his 31st of the season at 11:56 of the second to make it 3-0. Less than 50 seconds later, Thomas Chabot replied for Ottawa to get the Senators on the board.
Mark Scheifele, who became the Jets’ franchise leader in goals Monday night, added an empty-netter late in the third for his 33rd goal of the season.
Winnipeg is now six wins away from the all-time NHL streak of 17 held by the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins. The Edmonton Oilers had last season’s longest winning streak with 16.
TAKEAWAYS
The Jets continue to be the team to beat in the NHL with a league-leading 87 points.
Ottawa dressed just 11 forwards and seven defencemen Wednesday. Despite having 25 shots on net, more than half were by defencemen.
KEY MOMENT
The Senators had a pair of messy errors at the midpoint of the first period leading to two goals from Winnipeg. First, Tim Stutzle had an unforced turnover, leading to the Jets’ opening goal. Less than a minute later, the Jets had an odd-man rush and Ullmark couldn’t hold on to a puck he thought he had.
KEY STAT
Hellebuyck has now gone an incredible 21-2-2 in his last 25 starts and continues to lead the league in goals-against average as he looks to become the first to win the Vezina Trophy in back-to-back seasons since Martin Brodeur (2006-07, 2007-08).
UP NEXT
Senators: Host the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.
Jets: Visit the Nashville Predators Thursday in the second of a back-to-back.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2025.
Adam Stanley, The Canadian Press
