Kyle Connor nets pair as Jets take down Panthers

Kyle Connor had two goals and an assist to help the Winnipeg Jets to a 5-2 win against the visiting Florida Panthers on Tuesday.

Mark Scheifele scored twice and Pierre-Luc Dubois had three assists for the Jets, who have won eight of their past 11 games. Connor Hellebuyck made 39 saves.

Carter Verhaeghe and Zac Dalpe scored for the Panthers, who are 3-4-3 in their past 10 games.

Spencer Knight allowed three goals on 15 shots before being pulled for Sergei Bobrovsky early in the second period. Bobrovsky made 14 saves in relief.

Scheifele opened the scoring on the power play at 13:20 of the first period. Josh Morrissey's point shot hit Dubois in the slot and the forward quickly got his stick on it to feed Scheifele on the doorstep for the l-0 lead.

The Panthers responded with a power-play goal of their own. Matthew Tkachuk took the puck behind the net and sent a backhand pass to Verhaeghe in the left circle, who wristed a shot to tie it 1-1 at 14:11.

But Connor put Winnipeg back in front 17 seconds later when he took a short pass from Dubois at the top of the left circle and beat Knight short side to make it 2-1.

The Panthers outshot the Jets 25-8 in the second period as they pressed for the equalizer, but couldn't find the back of the net.

Connor pushed it to 3-1 at 1:43 of the second. After Connor forced Florida forward Ryan Lomberg into a turnover in the slot in the Panthers' end, Dubois picked up the loose puck and dished it off to Connor in the right circle for his second of the night.

That spelled the end of the night for Knight.

Scheifele one-timed a pass from Connor in the left circle on the power play to extend it to 4-1 at 13:23.

Dalpe connected off the rush from the bottom of the right circle to narrow it to 4-2 at 9:02.

Adam Lowry scored an empty-net goal at 16:59 for the 5-2 final.

--Field Level Media

1/3: Nov 28, 2022; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward James Hamblin (57) battles for position with Florida Panthers defensemen Brandon Montour (62) during the first period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

2/3: Nov 28, 2022; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward James Hamblin (57) skates during warmup against the Florida Panthers at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

3/3: Dec 6, 2022; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele (55) is congratulated by Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois (80) on his goal against Florida Panthers goalie Spencer Knight (30) during the first period at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: Terrence Lee-USA TODAY Sports