Backup goaltender Eric Comrie made 26 saves for his second shutout in two months as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-0 on Thursday night in a matchup of Western Conference divisional leaders.
The Jets are now one victory from breaking the franchise record and took a big step toward securing the Central Division and home-ice advantage for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
They have three more points than Washington in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy and four more than Dallas in the Central.
The game was the second of a three-game road trip for the Jets, who bounced back from a loss against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.
Vegas, after back-to-back losses this week, finds its once solid grip on the Pacific Division more tenuous. Los Angeles is within three points after beating the Utah Hockey Club 4-2 on Thursday night.
Vegas entered the week comfortably ahead in the Pacific but the Knights now risk falling into a potential first-round playoff matchup with the Edmonton Oilers, who lost last year’s Stanley Cup final in Game 7.
Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry, Colin Miller and Cole Perfetti scored, and Nino Niederreiter had two assists. Comrie, who backs up two-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck, got his first shutout since Feb. 4 against Carolina.
Scheifele’s goal was his 799th career point. Blake Wheeler is the only player in the franchise to reach the 800-point mark.
Adin Hill stopped 16 of 19 shots while playing the first two periods for the Golden Knights. Hill was replaced in the third by Akira Schmid, who was recently called up from the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knight. Schmid saved both shots he faced. Perfetti’s goal was an empty-netter.
Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers was twice injured after getting hit by the puck. The second time, in the third period, he left and didn’t return.
The Jets’ 52 wins tied the mark set last season and in 2017-18, when they went deep into the playoffs.
That year, Winnipeg was knocked out of the Western Conference final in five games by the Golden Knights. The Washington Capitals beat the Knights in five games to claim the Stanley Cup.
The next — and possibly record-setting — game for the Jets is against Utah on Saturday. The Knights also play that day, against Calgary.
