Hellebuyck makes 41 saves, Jets beat Senators

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck made 41 saves, and Paul Stastny, Dylan DeMelo, and Blake Wheeler scored second-period goals to help the Winnipeg Jets beat the Ottawa Senators 5-1 on Thursday night.

Stastny, DeMelo, and Wheeler scored after Hellebuyck stopped 18 shots in a scoreless first period. The Jets improved to 4-0 this season against Ottawa, with the teams set to square off again Saturday night.

Mathieu Perreault and Neal Pionk also scored for Winnipeg. Josh Norris scored for Ottawa.

Ottawa defenseman Artem Zub was out for “precautionary reasons” after an inconclusive COVID-19 test. The Senators said prior to the game that Zub’s inconclusive test result came back Thursday after he tested negative Wednesday. Josh Brown dressed in Zub’s place.

The Jets opened the scoring eight seconds into the second on Stastny's third of the season. DeMelo, a former Senator, gave Winnipeg a 2-0 advantage at 7:53 with his first of the year. Wheeler made it 3-0 with an unassisted power-play goal with 26 seconds left in the period.