Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – The Winnipeg Jets had some weekend to wrap
up a four-game road trip.
In two wins, they scored just one goal. It came 20 seconds into Sunday’s 1-0
victory over the Chicago Blackhawks off the stick of Michael Frolik.
Following Saturday’s 1-0 shootout win over the Rangers in New York, the Jets
scored on their first shift against the Blackhawks and Michael Hutchinson made
33 saves to earn his first career shutout in his sixth NHL game.
The Jets went 3-0-1 on the trip, the only loss coming against New Jersey in a
shootout on Thursday. They extended their points streak to five games (4-0-1),
with the other two wins being decided by one goal.
Corey Crawford was a hard-luck loser, making 26 saves for the Blackhawks, who
fell to 2-5-0 in their last seven games after opening the season on a five-
game point streak.
Crawford played for a second consecutive day after returning from a six-game
absence because of a lower body injury to make 24 saves in Saturday’s 3-2 loss
in Toronto.
The Blackhawks ripped off 47 shots against James Reimer and the Maple Leafs,
including 26 in a scoreless third period that coach Joel Quenneville said
might have been one of their best periods of the season.
They had another good third period Sunday, firing 13 shots at the 24-year-old
Hutchinson, who stopped each one to preserve Winnipeg’s second straight
shutout following Ondrej Pavelec’s 38-save effort on Saturday.
They were the franchise’s first back-to-back shutouts since Kari Lehtonen
posted two in a row for the Atlanta Thrashers on Oct. 7 and 9, 2006.
An opening faceoff win led to instant pressure for the Jets that netted a shot
by Andrew Ladd just seconds into the game.
The Blackhawks couldn’t clear the rebound after a long shot by Zach Bogosian
and Frolik wheeled around to score from the left circle, giving Winnipeg the
lead after 20 seconds.
Hutchinson had nine saves in the first period and 11 in the second.
Game Notes
Each team went scoreless on two power-plays … The Maple Leafs are in
Montreal on Tuesday … The Jets are home against Nashville on Tuesday.
