March 5, 2026; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan DeMello (2) battles for position with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Guenzel (59) in front of Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebueck (37) during the first period at the Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: Terrence Lee-Imagn Image Connor Hellebuyck won a battle of elite goalies, Morgan Barron and Mark Scheifele scored in the second period and the Winnipeg Jets beat the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 on Thursday night.
In a matchup between two of the five active Vezina Trophy-winning goalies, Hellebuk made 26 saves, while Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy also stopped 26 shots.
Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina winner who backstopped Team USA’s 2-1 overtime win over Canada, improved to 8-2-1 in his head-to-head matchup with Vasilevskiy, the 2019 Vezina winner.
Gustav Nyquist scored the first goal for Winnipeg and Kyle Connor added an empty-net goal as the Jets improved to 5-2-3 in their last 10 games.
Brayden Point scored the only goal for the Lightning, who have lost four straight games after going 20-1-1 from Dec. 20 to Feb. 25.
In the second period, Vasilevskiy made his best save at 6:30 following a steal by Walker Duehr, stuffing in Cole Koepke from close range after a cross-ice feed from Duehr.
During the Jets’ second power play, a clever setup led to Scheifele going for a quick one-timer near the right circle at 14:11, but it was blocked by Vasilevskiy.
Hellebuyck matched that effort a minute later when he denied Brandon Hagel’s deke and backhander.
But Winnipeg finally broke through at 15:31 of the second period when Barron netted a juicy rebound on Koepke’s shot after drawing in the defensive zone and rushing down the ice.
The home club’s lead was doubled 4:11 into the game when Alex Iafallo recorded the first of two assists with a pass through center ice to the left, before Scheifele, who also received an assist, beat the Russian goalkeeper for a two-goal cushion after 40 minutes.
Point cut the deficit to 2-1 when he found a long rebound off the end boards and buried a power-play goal at 1:52 of the third.
But Nyquist responded with his first goal in his 40th game this season at 5:34 after Tanner Pearson set up a 50-50 puck contest against Pontus Homburg at the end of a Winnipeg offensive effort.
Connor sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 2:01 left as the Jets moved to 2-0-0 so far in their eight-game homestand.
–Field level media
