Vilardi scores, Hellebuyck stops 35 shots for third shutout of season as Jets beat Avalanche 1-0

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Gabriel Vilardi scored and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 35 shots for his third shutout this season as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Colorado Avalanche 1-0 on Thursday night.

Vilardi scored 1:06 into the game, and Hellebuyck made it stand up for the Jets' fifth straight win since snapping a season-opening eight-game win streak. Hellebuyck had nine saves in the first, nine in the second and 17 in the third for his 40th career shutout.

It was the teams' first meeting since the Avalanche beat the Jets in five gams in the first round of the playoff last spring.

Alexandar Georgiev stopped 27 shots for Colorado.

Jets: Jumped on the Avalanche early, with Mark Scheifele setting up Vilardi for the only goal of the game. They had plenty of chances after that but were stoned by Georgiev for the rest of the way.

Avalanche: After Winnipeg’s goal, Colorado rebounded and generated scoring chances only to either miss the net or be denied by Hellebuyck.

Midway through the second period, Hellebuyck made four saves from his knees on dangerous shots by the Avalanche.

Colorado outshot the Jets 17-4 in the third period and 35-28 overall.

Avalanche host Carolina on Saturday to open a four-game homestand, and Jets host Dallas to finish a four-game homestand.

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