Brossoit clutch, Jets shine against Dallas Stars for fifth straight win – Winnipeg

Laurent Brossoit made 24 saves for the shutout and the Winnipeg Jets made a Central Division statement Thursday with a 3-0 blanking of the Dallas Stars, who hold the top record in the Western Conference.

Nikolaj Ehlers opened the scoring with 5:07 remaining in the first period, depositing a rebound from the slot past Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger.

The Dane's 24th goal this season was also the 200th of his career.

Winnipeg was able to double its lead 9:20 into the second period.

Dylan Samberg's point shot deflected off a Stars stick, then hit David Gustafsson before it trickled into the back of the net.  The goal was Gustafsson's 3rd of the season and first in 29 games.

The best chance for Dallas to score in the first two periods came with just under a minute remaining in the second.

Stars defenceman Thomas Harley's deflected shot from the point skipped in and went off the right post, bouncing out and directly under Brossoit.

The third period featured a lot of offensive zone pressure for Dallas, but Brossoit stood tall.

Then with the Stars goalie pulled late, Mark Scheifele put an exclamation mark on this game with an empty net goal.  It was just the second Jets shot on goal in the period.

The Jets move back into a tie with the Colorado Avalanche for second place in the Central Division with 104 points each. Winnipeg holds the tiebreaker with more regulation wins.

And it sets up a Winnipeg-Colorado showdown Saturday afternoon in Denver, the Jets final road game of the regular season.

The pregame show begins at 1 p.m. on 680 CJOB, with puck drop just after 3 p.m.