Villardi, Scheifele, Connor each have 3 points as Jets beat Blackhawks 6-3

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Gabriel Villardi had two goals and an assist, and linemates Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor each had a goal and a two assists as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 on Thursday night.

Vladislav Namestnikov and Josh Morrissey also scored for Winnipeg and Dylan DeMelo had two assists. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 21 shots.

Teuvo Teravainen, Alex Vlasic and Andre Burakovsky scored for Chicago, and Spencer Knight finished with 26 saves in the opener of a six-game trip.

The Jets scored quick goals in each of the first two periods.

After Chicago took a penalty at 1:21 of the first period, Namestnikov scored 21 seconds later on a quick feed from behind the net by Gustav Nyquist.

An unlucky bounce led to the Blackhawks evening it up at 8:57. Hellebuyck went to play a puck when it was dumped in the corner, but it hit a seam in the boards and bounced straight to Teravainen as he was skating to the front of the net.

Vilardi and Scheifele teamed up on a 2-on-1 to go ahead 2-1 with 3:04 remaining in the opening period.

A Chicago turnover early in the second gave Connor the puck and he passed it to Scheifele, who fired a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle past Knight at 1:54.

Vilardi scored his second of the night and fourth of the season with 8:41 remaining in the middle period after DeMelo sent him a puck from the corner.

After Morrissey recorded his first goal of the season at 10:12 of the third, Vlasic scored his first less than two minutes later. Burakovsky and Connor finished off the scoring.

Winnipeg’s Jonathan Toews had an assist in his first game against his old team, which chose him third overall in the 2006 NHL draft. Toews, 37, missed the past two seasons with health issues and signed a one-year deal with his hometown Jets. He has two goals and four assists.

Up next

Blackhawks: Visit Edmonton on Saturday.

Jets: Host Pittsburgh on Saturday.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL