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National Hockey League
Winnipeg 3, Chicago 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, October 29, 2015
Where: MTS Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Referees: Dave Jackson, Graham Skilliter
Linesmen: Brad Kovachik, Mark Wheler
Attendance: 15294

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Michael Hutchinson doesn't get spooked by the vaunted Chicago Blackhawks.

Staring down the likes of classy center Jonathan Toews and all-star right wingers Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa, the Winnipeg Jets goalie elevates his game to another level.

Take the Jets' tidy 3-1 triumph over the defending Stanley Cup champions on Thursday night, for example. Hutchinson allowed a relatively soft goal just 86 seconds into the contest but steadied himself and finished with 45 saves to spark the Jets.

Winnipeg (6-3-1) scored a goal in every period against its Central Division rivals, while the Blackhawks' offense continued to sputter.

The Jets ended a six-game homestand on a winning note, thanks in large part to Hutchinson's brilliance. The second-year goalie has a 4-0-1 lifetime record against the Blackhawks dating back to the early part of the 2014-15 season.

Hutchinson was asked if he has a personal vendetta against Chicago (6-4-0).

"No, it's just one of those teams that sometimes you have it where things just go your way," he said. "I think our whole team is in their heads. I don't think they like playing us. We play pretty physical when we're against them."

Hutchinson is 4-0-0 this season with a 1.75 save percentage and a .949 save percentage.

He said he wasn't shaken when Kane's weak wrist shot from the faceoff dot beat him through the pads at 1:26 of the first period with the Jets a man short. The goal was Kane's sixth in just 10 games this season.

"Obviously, I would have liked to have that one back," Hutchinson said. "You never want to let a goal go through you. But at the same time, I knew that we answered back so quick that we were still right in the game and you can't let another one past you, especially against Chicago. As soon as they get a bit of a lead, they're able to kind of shut it down. Fortunately, we were able to answer back right away and just go from there."

Jets right winger Blake Wheeler ripped his fourth goal of the season at 8:12 of the first period. A clean faceoff win by center Bryan Little led to the equalizer as Wheeler picked up the puck and released a hard wrist shot that beat Chicago goalie Corey Crawford low to the glove side.

Winnipeg left winger Andrew Ladd scored the only goal of the second period, his third tally of the season, with the Jets enjoying a power play. Little got his second assist of the night as the Jets grabbed a 2-1 lead.

Meanwhile, Hutchinson did his best work in the middle frame, stopping all 18 shots the Blackhawks fired his way.

Center Mark Scheifele added his fourth goal of the year 8:04 into the third period.

"(Hutchinson) was awesome all night. That's about it. He was unbelievable for us tonight," said Scheifele, who took a great drop pass from rookie right winger Nikolaj Ehlers and rifled a snap shot below Crawford's blocker. "He kept us in it, especially in that first period. He had an awesome game."

Crawford, coming off a pair of shutout victories, made 28 saves.

Despite rattling off four consecutive wins before arriving at the MTS Centre, Chicago hasn't registered an even-strength goal in regulation time in 11 periods, going back to a first-period goal by center Artem Anisimov on Oct. 22 against the Florida Panthers.

Kane said the club needs to net some greasy goals to get rolling.

"I think we had some chances to score some goals. You know, give the goaltender credit," Kane said. "But you know, at this point in time, we can do things a little bit different to make it tougher on their goalie. Try to get to the net, stay at the net, get shots through, get rebounds and try to bang in goals that way -- get some dirty goals, because it seems all the pretty plays are not really happening for us. We can do a better job at trying to get some ugly ones."

The game was the first of five between the two Central Division teams this season.

Toews said there is definitely a different feel to games between division rivals.

"I don't think either team is going to give up anything easy, and we saw that tonight," he said. "It's something we can expect down the road from (the Jets) and from the other teams that we'll be battling for points down the stretch and throughout the season. And we're just getting started, I guess."

NOTES: Chicago C Tanner Kero made his NHL debut Thursday night, flanked by LW Bryan Bickell and RW Ryan Garbutt. The Michigan native was called up from the AHL's Rockford IceHogs this week, while fellow rookie C Vincent Hinostroza was reassigned. ... Blackhawks D Duncan Keith (right knee), Michal Rozsival (left ankle) are still on the mend, while LW Teuvo Teravainen and D Erik Gustafsson were healthy scratches. ... The Jets sat three healthy bodies, D Adam Pardy, D Paul Postma and RW Anthony Peluso. ... Chicago just finished a perfect four-game homestand (4-0-0). ... The Jets play eight of the next nine contests on the road. ... Winnipeg RW Blake Wheeler's streak of consecutive games with at least a point to start the season was snapped Tuesday in the club's 4-1 loss to Los Angeles. He amassed 11 points in the squad's first eight games.
Top Game Performances
 
Chicago   Winnipeg
Patrick Kane 1 Points Bryan Little 2
Patrick Kane 1 Goals Andrew Ladd 1
Artemi Panarin 1 Assists Bryan Little 2
Patrick Kane 1 Power Play Goals Andrew Ladd 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Corey Crawford .903 Save Percentage Michael Hutchinson .978
Corey Crawford 28 Saves Michael Hutchinson 45
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Chicago 46 1 1-3 2-3 6 33
Winnipeg 31 3 1-3 2-3 6 38
Upcoming Games
  • Winnipeg will play their next game on the road against Columbus. The Jets have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .750 after a loss.
  • Chicago will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Blackhawks have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .667 after a loss.