WINNIPEG -- Rookie Nikolaj Ehlers had his first NHL hat trick, and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 at MTS Centre on Tuesday.
The Jets (22-24-30) ended a three-game losing streak and won for the first time in four games on a six-game homestand. They are still in last place in the Central Division, but hit the All-Star break on a positive note.
"We get to go feeling good," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "We get some guys who have some confidence back in their games. You need to have that good feeling."
Ehlers, who moved to a new line with right wing Blake Wheeler and center Mark Scheifele, extended his point streak to four games (four goals, two assists). The trio quickly provided offense for a team that had managed four goals in its previous four games.
"I couldn't have done it without the other guys of course, but it feels good," Ehlers said. "[Quick chemistry] is tough to find, and it doesn't happen much."
Maurice feels the threesome will be even better after some time together.
"They drew a couple of penalties with their speed. It's speed. All three of those guys can really skate," he said. "When they learn to find each other or trust each other, they'll look even faster.
"This game has gotten faster this [season] in my mind than any [season] in the past. Speed is at a premium in terms of value."
Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien had two goals and an assist, and Wheeler had three assists.
It was for the first hat trick for the Jets since Mathieu Perreault had one against the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 13, 2015. Winnipeg selected Ehlers in the first round (No. 9) of the 2014 NHL Draft. The last rookie to score a hat trick for the Winnipeg franchise was Kamil Piros, who did it on April 6, 2003, against the Tampa Bay Lightning when the franchise was known as the Atlanta Thrashers.
Jets rookie Connor Hellebuyck started for the 19th time in the past 21 games, making 32 saves.
Brad Richardson and Anthony Duclair scored for Arizona (24-20-5), which had won its previous two games and came to Winnipeg after a 2-1 shootout victory at the Minnesota Wild on Monday. The Coyotes are third in the Pacific Division.
Rookie goaltender Louis Domingue started for the second consecutive night and made 20 saves before Anders Lindback (12 saves) replaced him to start the third period.
"You have to take this game and park it," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "It's three [games] in four [nights] with travel, and hard travel.
"[Domingue] didn't have his best night, and that's the way it goes sometimes. If you want to overthink this game, it's wrong. Just park it, move on to the break, and we'll come out better out of the break."
Arizona defenseman Michael Stone took two minor penalties in the first 5:30 of the game, and the second one led to Winnipeg's first goal. The Jets took a 1-0 lead at 6:55 when Wheeler's off-wing shot from the left circle bounced to the left of Domingue and Ehlers put home the rebound.
"You're coming in against a team that is desperate and sitting here, waiting for you, you get in at 2:30 in the morning and you put yourself in a hole by taking penalties early," Tippett said. "You get down too early and you're chasing the game. When you're a team that played the night before, that's not a good recipe for you. Lots of lessons learned."
Ehlers scored again at 13:53, finishing a 2-on-1 rush with Wheeler.
"Really the only challenge is just finding [Ehlers] and trying to get him in those spaces because he is lethal around the net," Wheeler said.
Byfuglien made it 3-0 with a center-ice shot that fooled Domingue at 6:00 of the second period.
"I thought that third goal really took some zip out of us, and the power play didn't execute very well, and it was downhill from there," Tippett said.
Ehlers completed his hat trick at 14:31, taking Wheeler's left-side pass in the mid-slot and snapping a shot under the crossbar. His 12th goal of the season put Winnipeg ahead 4-0. It was the first time in Domingue's streak of 12 consecutive starts that he had allowed more than three goals in a game.
Richardson's fifth of the season 1:09 later made it 4-1; however, Byfuglien scored on a breakaway at 17:43 with the Jets playing two men short to restore the Jets' four-goal lead. It was the Winnipeg franchise's first goal while shorthanded two skaters since the 2003-04 season.
Coyotes captain Shane Doan pointed to Winnipeg's shorthanded goal as a lesson to be learned.
"There are moments in games that you have to take advantage of," Doan said. "When you get them, you've got to be composed enough to take advantage of them. We have been. We've done a good job."
"You can't let your guard down and think you're mentally going to be OK. You're going to have to always stay focused, stable and be alert. We just kind of snoozed on that one."
Duclair scored his 13th goal with 15.8 seconds left in the game.
The Coyotes come out of the break by playing seven of their first nine games at home.
"If you look at where we are compared to where everybody thought we would be, we're in a lot better position," said Tippett, whose team matched its win total for all of last season with by winning Monday at Minnesota.
"We need the break right now, and it's going to be a challenge for us. We put ourselves in a position where we can push, and now we'll see whether we've got the capabilities of pushing after [the break]."
Winnipeg resumes play Feb. 2 at home against the Dallas Stars.
"It's pretty big for us to go into the break on a good note," Byfuglien said.
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