Win number 50 was on the minds of the Winnipeg Jets fans tonight as the team hosted the New Jersey Devils. After a strong showing in a 3-2 OT win against the NHL leading Capitals on Tuesday, the Jets were looking to get yet another win as the regular seasons winds down. With 2 points, the Jets would leap over the Capitals and back into 1st in the NHL league standings. This game was almost all Jets, with of course some big help from MVP candidate Connor Hellebuyck. An early 2-0 lead put the Jets right on track to win their 50th game of this regular season, and they did just that, in style, with a 4-0 win at home. Here’s how it all played out on this Friday night of hockey at Canada Life Centre.

The Jets wasted no time getting on the scoreboard tonight. After 1 shot on goal by the Devils, the Jets scored on their 1st shot of the game 58 seconds in. Mark Scheifele carried the puck into the zone and sent one across to Kyle Connor. Iafallo was in front in good shooting position, and Connor found him, before Iafallo backhanded one on goal past Devils backup goalie Jake Allen.

54 seconds later, the 4th line made it 2-0 for the Jets. A turnover in the Devils zone was picked up Brandon Tanev, who fired one on goal. Morgan Barron picked up the rebound and sent one across to an open David Gustafsson who wristed one past Allen for his 2nd of the season. 2 goals on 3 shots for the Jets at this point, who were locked in early this game.

Vladislav Namestnikov would pick up the game’s 1st penalty with a goalie interference call at the 8:32 mark. The Devils couldn’t get much going, and the Jets penalty kill, which has been near perfect in the past few games, got another successful penalty kill. Despite no goal, the Devils picked up some momentum from this point of the period. Shots were 4-1 Jets, but with 5 minutes to play in the 1st the shots were suddenly 8-4 Devils, with Hellebuyck standing tall in goal. The Jets were the ones who got the last 5 chances in the period, and the Jets went into the intermission up 9-8 in shots and up 2-0.

The first 10 minutes of the 2nd period were low event hockey. Both teams were pushing for that all-important next goal, which resulted in a more controlled pace. The first “event” of the 2nd happened when Colin Miller got called for tripping against Nico Hischier. The Devils went on their 2nd powerplay of the game, but once again the Jets penalty killers shut down the man advantage.

Seconds after the Devils powerplay was over, the Jets got their first powerplay of the game after Simon Nemec tripped Colin Miller. The league leading powerplay went to work, and it was Alex Iafallo who extended the Jets lead to 3. Josh Morrissey fired the puck on goal, and a quick rebound was collected by Nikolaj Ehlers, who tapped one up over to Iafallo, who gloved it down and fired it past Allen for his 2nd of the night.

In the final minute of the 2nd, Kyle Connor fired one wide, but Mark Scheifele collected a rebound from behind the net and wristed one past Allen to make it 4-0 Jets. Scheifele’s 36th of the season ends his recent goal drought which was sitting at 9 games. Shots on goal in the 2nd ended 6-5 for the Jets, and fans at Canada Life Centre were feeling nothing but good vibes after 40 minutes.

Nothing notable happened in the first half of the 3rd period, but the Devils continued pushing for their 1st goal of the game. Shots on goal were 7-2 in the 3rd for the Devils, but Hellebuyck wasn’t let anything go past him tonight. The Devils got themselves a 3rd powerplay on the night after Dylan DeMelo was called for slashing with 5 minutes to go.

Hellebuyck shut the door on the powerplay, and the Jets penalty killers were a perfect 3 for 3 on the night. The Jets continued to have a 4-0 lead late into the 3rd period, as they were closing in on win number 50 on the season, as well as a return to the top of the NHL league standings. The Devils looked to be the better team in the 3rd, outshooting the Jets 11-4, but the Jets and Hellebuyck held the Devils scoreless, picking up the 4-0 win. Final shots on goal were 24-19 for the Devils.

Alex Iafallo led the way for the Jets offence with 2 goals on the night. Connor Hellebuyck was perfect, making 24 saves on 24 shots, picking up his league leading 7th shutout of the season. From start to finish, this was a complete team effort, as the Jets picked up the win against a team that was looking to secure their current playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

The month of March includes one more game for the Jets on their current 4 game home stand. Sunday afternoon, at 2 pm CT, the Jets will host the Vancouver Canucks. The next goal for the Jets continues to be securing 1st place in the Central Division, followed less immediately by the goal of finishing 1st in the Western Conference and 1st in the league. After that game, the Jets will play 8 games in April, 5 on the road and 3 at home (not in a row), before the playoffs begin. Check back here on Tuesday morning for a preview of the Jets vs. Kings game, with puck drop set for 9:30 pm CT.