Connor Hellebuyck on Wednesday made 30 saves for his 38th career shutout as the Winnipeg Jets routed the Edmonton Oilers 6-0 in the NHL season opener for both teams.
“The guys in front of me were just keeping everything outside, allowing me to see pucks, allowing me to feel it, clearing rebounds, clearing lanes,” Hellebuyck said. “They made my night really easy. Once in a while I made a big save, which allowed me to feel like a part of the team.”
Mason Appleton had a goal and two assists, Adam Lowry and Mark Scheifele each had a goal and an assist, while Rasmus Kupari, Dylan Samberg and Kyle Connor also scored.
Photo: Perry Nelson / Imagn Images
“It’s great, just to get the season off on a good note,” first-year Jets coach Scott Arniel said. “I did have a sleepless night just worrying about some of these guys on the other team there and how powerful they are as a group... It’s a road win in a tough barn. We’ll take that and move on.”
Edmonton outshot Winnipeg 30-20. The Oilers lost to Florida in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals last season.
“You had an incredible year that finished with disappointment and it’s tough to just say: ‘Forget about it, let’s think about now,’ but there is a point where we need to do that,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said.
Photo: AFP
Oilers starter Stuart Skinner allowed five goals on 13 shots before being pulled midway through the second period. Calvin Pickard gave up a goal on seven shots.
“I feel terrible about what happened tonight,” Skinner said. “It is very frustrating to start like this. It is just not ideal. I don’t feel great.”
Elsewhere on Wednesday, it was:
‧ Canadiens 1, Maple Leafs 0
‧ Canucks 5, Flames 6 (OT)
‧ Golden Knights 8, Avalanche 4
‧ Penguins 0, Rangers 6
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Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
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