Winnipeg Jets become first team in NHL history to go 15-1

NEW YORK – The Winnipeg Jets made NHL history with their 6-3 victory at the New York Rangers on Tuesday night, becoming the first team to win 15 of their first 16 games in a season.

“You play at MSG, you have to put on a show,” said center Mark Scheifele, who scored two goals in the win. “It feels great. Of course it was a great start for us, but tonight it's over. Enjoy the victory. And then back to work.”

The Jets' start has been nothing short of remarkable. They became the fourth team since 1967-68 to lead the NHL in goals allowed and conceded per game through their first 15 games. They have scored five or more goals in half of their games. Their 73 goals this season are the third most by a team in the first 16 games in the last 30 years.

With their win at the Rangers, the Jets moved to 7-0-0 on the road. The 36 goals they scored away from Winnipeg are the most in NHL history for the nine teams that won their first seven road games.

“We talked about collecting points at the beginning of the season. We have a very difficult division. I don’t think I quite nailed it, but the guys definitely earned every inch of it,” said head coach Scott Arniel, who was promoted to assistant coach in the offseason.

Kyle Connor scored two goals, while Gabriel Vilardi and Vladislav Namestnikov added additional goals. Connor Hellebuyck made 33 saves for the Jets, many of which were crucial saves against the Rangers to keep his team's momentum going. Hellebuyck now has a 12-1-0 record this season and has passed the Rangers' Igor Shesterkin (five goals on 32 shots) in a favorite to win the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender.

Connor said he felt the Jets' forecheck benefited from the Rangers' offensive pressing.

“I think they cheated in some areas offensively, for lack of a better word. They got past our defenders at times and we were able to keep the pucks in and make them count,” he said.

Rangers coach Peter Laviolette simply felt the Jets performed better.

“I don’t think we put any pressure on it. When you play against a team that's firing offensively and the execution isn't where it needs to be, that can turn into a disadvantage pretty quickly,” he said.

Scheifele scored 57 seconds into the contest before the Rangers' Will Cuylle equalized at 13:07 of the first period. Vilardi gave the visitors the lead on the power play at 8:58 before Alexis Lafreniere scored again at 12:51 of the second minute. Connor gave the Jets the lead for good at 16:03 of the second. Scheifele scored again 1:08 into the third period – his ninth of the season – before Kaapo Kakko cut the deficit to 4-3 just 32 seconds later. Namestnikov scored his fifth goal at 13:08, and Connor completed the goal into an empty net with 20 seconds to play.

“It comes from all areas of our team, from top to bottom. Everybody’s involved in it, and that’s what makes it so dangerous, so deadly,” Connor said of the Jets’ offense. “It’s not just a one-trick pony. When a line has an off night, we usually have two or three starting.”

The Jets remain on the road with games at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday and the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Connor said the team understands the story they are writing but doesn't allow it to be a distraction.

“To be honest, we know what we’re doing, but we don’t think too much about it. We move on to the next one. It's about, 'How can we improve, how can we get better?'” he said. “I think that’s what’s made us successful so far. Nobody is satisfied. We've won 15 here, but I think that just speaks to the fact that we're not comfortable with the lead. There’s still a lot of time left for the season.”