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National Hockey League
Tampa Bay 4, Winnipeg 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 11, 2017
Where: MTS Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Referees: Marc Joannette, Chris Rooney
Linesmen: Ryan Gibbons, Darren Gibbs
Attendance: 15294

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Jonathan Drouin added another highlight-reel play to his growing collection -- and helped spark his teammates to an impressive 4-1 victory over the free-falling Winnipeg Jets.

The Tampa Bay winger showed off the speed and skill that makes him one of the league's most dynamic players in setting up the opening goal Saturday night at the MTS Centre. Drouin stripped Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler of the puck, cycled through the offensive zone and dished a no-look behind-the-back pass to teammate Brayden Point who made no mistake with the open net.

"I just went wide with speed and Pointer set at the net and the goalie kind of shifted the other way off the post and Pointer just tapped it in," Drouin said of his video-game like display on ice.

His coach, Jon Cooper, has seen this act before.

"You know what, I was more impressed with was the way he started. It was the backcheck. He was working back and that's how you get rewarded. And once he gets the puck in the offensive zone and he's got a little time and space, he can do some magical things and that was a heck of a play," Cooper said.

Tampa Bay went on to build a big lead and wouldn't look back thanks to goaltender Ben Bishop, who stopped 31 shots. The pending unrestricted free agent gave up one goal in his past two starts after a tough start to his season.

Tampa Bay (25-24-7) is unbeaten in regulation in its past four games (3-0-1).

"Tonight was a great job. Guys getting to the net and tips and pretty goals and kind of everything. Hopefully, we can keep building on this as we go along," Bishop said.

Winnipeg (25-29-4) is headed in the opposite direction, dropping its fourth straight game as its playoff hopes grow bleaker. The latest losing streak comes on the heels of three consecutive victories that suggested perhaps the talented young squad had turned a corner.

"Our season is on the line. We have to come out with energy. I don't know what's happening. We're going to have to find a way with the boys all together and figure ourselves out," Jets forward Mathieu Perreault said following the game.

Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele had the best scoring chance early in the opening period, shooting just wide on an otherwise open net. It turned out to be a costly miss -- and one of the few decent offensive looks the Jets had.

After Drouin helped open the scoring, Brian Boyle made it 2-0 a few minutes later when he tipped Victor Hedman's point shot past Connor Hellebuyck.

"You watch our start, we had a bunch of good chances early. Then they get one, we continued to keep on them. They put one in toward the end of the first. We kept battling, kept trying to get our chances. They just seemed a step quicker than us tonight," Scheifele said.

Tampa Bay kept pouring it on in the second period. Ondrej Palat ripped a shot past Hellebuyck to make it 3-0 and Drouin hit the crossbar moments later.

The Jets tried to make a game of it in the third period. Jacob Trouba ruined Bishop's bid for a second straight shutout when he wired a shot past him with 8:45 left in the third period.

But that's as close as they'd come as Bishop withstood a late-game surge. Hedman sealed the win for the Lightning with an empty-net goal in the final minute.

Rookie Connor Hellebuyck stopped 26 shots in making his second straight start for the Jets. Ondrej Pavelec seemingly took over the No. 1 job in the Winnipeg net, starting eight of nine games until he went down with an injury earlier this week. He's expected to miss at least seven days.

"We're just not getting the result we want and we need. Right now it's crunch time. We can't be letting too many of these slip," Hellebuyck said.

In addition to losing the game, the Jets also lost defenseman Toby Enstrom to injury early in the game. He was ruled out with a lower-body injury, although the team has not disclosed the extent.

NOTES: Winnipeg is 7-13-2 against Eastern Conference opponents this season. ... Tampa Bay is 7-10-3 versus the Western Conference. ... Winnipeg beat Tampa Bay 6-4 on Jan. 3 in Florida in their only other meeting this season. ... The Lightning begin their league-mandated bye week after Saturday's game. The Jets take theirs later in the month. ... The Jets are on a dubious streak, having gone 15 consecutive games with allowing at least three goals. Winnipeg allowed a league-worst 79 goals in the 21 games they've played since Dec. 29. ... Jets D Jacob Trouba is enjoying a fine offensive season since ending a contract stalemate earlier this season. Trouba's 22 points in 43 games has already surpassed last season's total in 81 games. ... Tampa Bay scratches were F Tyler Johnson (undisclosed injury) and D Luke Witkowski. ... Winnipeg sat G Ondrej Pavelec (lower-body injury), D Mark Stuart and F Chris Thorburn.
Top Game Performances
 
Tampa Bay   Winnipeg
Victor Hedman 2 Points Jacob Trouba 1
Victor Hedman 1 Goals Jacob Trouba 1
Victor Hedman 1 Assists Dustin Byfuglien 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Ben Bishop .970 Save Percentage Connor Hellebuyck .897
Ben Bishop 32 Saves Connor Hellebuyck 26
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Tampa Bay 30 4 0-2 3-3 8 30
Winnipeg 33 1 0-3 2-2 6 30
Upcoming Games
  • Winnipeg will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Jets have a W/L % of .440 after a win and .424 after a loss.
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Dallas. The Lightning have a W/L % of .360 after a win and .516 after a loss.