VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Laurent Brossoit made 29 saves for his second career shutout, Mark Scheifele scored on a first-period breakaway and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Vancouver Canucks 2-0 on Friday night.
The teams will complete the two-game series Sunday night in Vancouver.
Brossoit’s first NHL shutout also came in Vancouver, a 1-0 decision on Dec. 22, 2018.
“They all feel good, especially when it’s in your hometown being that much better,” Brossoit said. “It’s just another good game to add to a good start to our season.”
Brossoit, who backs up Connor Hellebuyck, is an underrated goaltender, Jets coach Paul Maurice said.
“He made a couple of really good saves where he had to get across hard but by the time he got there he was really in his own structure," Maurice said. "He was composed with it, and then the rebound control. There wasn’t anything that might have got away from him.”
Mason Appleton added an empty-netter.
Thatcher Demko made 29 saves for the Canucks.
“I thought you knew right from the puck drop that it was the type of game where if there was going to be a mistake, it would have a big impact on the end result of the game,” Demko said.
“So kind of a playoff-style game, but I thought our guys rose to the challenge and put a good effort in.”
A skirmish between Winnipeg’s Derek Forbort and Vancouver’s Nils Hoglander erupted into a pileup with 41 seconds left. Players from each side paired off as their teammates jeered from the benches off before officials could intervene.
Scheifele’s goal followed a misstep by the Vancouver defense, where the puck bounced through the feet of Alex Edler at the Canucks' blue line. Scheifele chased it down for a breakaway, putting a back-hander past Demko 7:25 into the game for his ninth of the season. The center has a nine-game points streak.
“I obviously saw (Demko) was far out of the net but he’s a pretty stellar goaltender, a big body, so just kind of made my move and he bit a little bit so I was happy to put it in,” Scheifele said. “I don’t get many breakaways so it’s fun when you put them in.”
