Hellebuyck gets shutout in Bowness' return, Winnipeg blanks Florida 3-0
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) -- Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 32 shots he faced, Dylan Samberg and Mason Appleton each had two assists and the Winnipeg Jets shut out the Florida Panthers 3-0 on Friday night.
Nino Niederreiter, Nikolaj Ehlers and Adam Lowry scored for the Jets in coach Rick Bowness' return from personal leave. Winnipeg is 12-5-2 on the season and went 9-2-2 under interim coach Scott Arniel while Bowness was away.
"You can talk about all of the X's and O's you want but I just love the way we're sticking up for each other," Bowness said. "In these scrums, we're right in the middle of it and there is a lot of heart in that room. There is a lot of camaraderie in that room and I love the culture we've got going here."
Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves for the Panthers, who fell to 12-7-1.
The shutout was the first of the season for Hellebuyck, who had never before blanked the Panthers. It was the 33rd regular-season shutout of Hellebuyck's career.
"I think that's a big confidence boost for him," Niederreiter said of Hellebuyck. "He's been playing some good hockey, he stopped a lot of pucks and he stood on his head."
Florida was blanked on home ice for the first time in its last 127 games, including playoffs. It ended the longest streak of games with at least one goal at home in club history. Before Friday, the last time Florida was shut out in Sunrise was a 3-0 loss to Dallas on Feb. 24, 2021 -- a game played before about 3,000 fans because of the pandemic.
"There's factors, not excuses," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "There's no excuse. We were (bad) tonight. The factor is that they get fired up. There are 15 games tonight, I think 13 of the road teams are going to win them because there's too much turkey eaten by the home team. We brought a few drumsticks out on the ice tonight."
As Maurice spoke, road teams were going 11-1-1 in the first 13 games that were completed Friday -- some in routs. Tampa Bay won in Carolina 8-2, Nashville won 8-3 in St. Louis and Edmonton won 5-0 in Washington.
Winnipeg is now 4-0-0 in its last four games against Florida. That's the longest winning streak the Jets' franchise has enjoyed over the Panthers since Atlanta beat Florida on six consecutive occasions spanning 2006 and 2007. The Thrashers relocated and became the Jets after the 2010-11 season.
It was the first instance of back-to-back home losses this season for Florida, which got captain Aleksander Barkov in the lineup again. Barkov had missed two games with a knee issue, but skated throughout the week and was cleared to return.
UP NEXT
Jets: Visit Nashville on Sunday.
Panthers: Visit Ottawa on Monday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian former Olympic snowboarder wanted in Ontario double homicide: DOJ
A Canadian former Olympic snowboarder who is suspected of being the leader of a transnational drug trafficking group that operated in four countries is wanted for allegedly orchestrating the murder of an 'innocent' couple in Ontario in 2023, authorities say.
Ontario school board trustees under fire for $100K religious art purchase on Italy trip
Trustees with an Ontario school board are responding to criticism over a $45,000 trip to Italy, where they purchased more than $100,000 worth of religious statues.
A photographer snorkeled for hours to take this picture
Shane Gross, a Canadian marine conservation photojournalist, has won the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Tobacco giants would pay out $32.5 billion to provinces, smokers in proposed deal
Three tobacco giants are proposing to pay close to $25 billion to provinces and territories and more than $4 billion to some 100,000 Quebec smokers and their loved ones as part of a corporate restructuring process triggered by a long-running legal battle.
More Trudeau cabinet ministers not running for re-election, sources say shuffle expected soon
Federal cabinet ministers Filomena Tassi, Carla Qualtrough and Dan Vandal announced Thursday they will not run for re-election. Senior government sources tell CTV News at least one other, Marie-Claude Bibeau, doesn't plan to run again, setting the stage for Justin Trudeau to shuffle his cabinet in the coming weeks.
Robert Pickton's handwritten book seized after his death in hopes of uncovering new evidence
A handwritten book was seized from B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton's prison cell following his death earlier this year, raising hopes of uncovering new evidence in a series of unprosecuted murders.
Former members of One Direction say they're 'completely devastated' by Liam Payne's death
The former members of English boy band One Direction reacted publicly to the sudden death of their bandmate, Liam Payne, for the first time on Thursday, saying in a joint statement that they're 'completely devastated.'
Israel says it has killed top Hamas leader Yayha Sinwar in Gaza
Israeli forces in Gaza killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year's attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel's most wanted man.
Indian government employee charged in foiled murder-for-hire plot in New York City
The U.S. Justice Department announced criminal charges Thursday against an Indian government employee in connection with a foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.