The Dallas Stars may have made some noise at the trade deadline, but tonight, they posed little challenge for the Winnipeg Jets. Winnipeg cruised to a 4-1 victory over Dallas.

The Jets’ top line dominated, while Connor Hellebuyck was stellar in goal as Winnipeg took down the Stars in front of a sold out Winnipeg crowd, stretching their lead atop the Central Division.

Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele each recorded three points in the win. The Jets built a three-goal lead through 40 minutes and held the Stars to just eight shots in the third period. Winnipeg has now won four of their last five games, securing a crucial victory in likely their biggest matchup of the season.

With the win, the Jets tightened their grip on the Central Division lead, moving 10 points ahead of second-place Dallas. However, the Stars have two games in hand, and the two teams still have one more meeting remaining.

Connor scored twice, while Morgan Barron and Dylan Samberg also found the back of the net. Despite leading 3-0 after two periods, the Jets were outshot in both the first and second frames.

Winnipeg opened the scoring when Connor carried the puck into the Dallas zone before sliding it across to Scheifele, who spun back and held onto it, waiting for Samberg to enter the play. Scheifele fed the trailing defenseman, who wired a shot past Jake Oettinger at 8:01 of the first period—Samberg’s fifth goal of the season and eighth in his 201-game NHL career.

The Jets’ top line wasn’t done yet, doubling the lead with 2:58 left in the opening frame. Gabriel Vilardi battled for the puck in the corner before it landed on Scheifele’s stick. He quickly dished a short pass to Connor, who snapped a shot through an unsuspecting Oettinger for his 34th goal of the season.

The Jets’ stars continued to shine in the second period when Connor netted his second of the game, making it 3-0.

After Josh Morrissey forced a turnover in the defensive zone, Scheifele chipped the puck up the boards, where Connor collected it just outside the Dallas blue line. Connor patiently waited for Morrissey to jump into the rush and executed a perfect give-and-go before firing the puck past Oettinger at 6:43 of the second period.

Winnipeg added another insurance marker at 7:26 of the third when Morgan Barron redirected a Dylan DeMelo point shot past Oettinger to make it 4-0.

With an assist on the Jets’ fourth goal, Brandon Tanev recorded his first regular-season point with Winnipeg since Apr. 1st, 2019.

With the game in hand, the only question remaining was whether Hellebuyck would secure the shutout. However, with 3:49 left in regulation, Mason Marchment snapped the shutout bid, scoring Dallas’ lone goal.

Winnipeg will look to increase their win streak to three games as they hit the road to face the Seattle Kraken on Sunday evening. Puck drop is at 8:00 p.m. and the game will be available to watch on TSN3.