Hellebuyck fuels Jets to NHL-record 14 wins through opening 15 games

The Winnipeg Jets moved to an astounding 14-1-0 on the campaign after defeating the Dallas Stars 4-1 on Saturday, establishing a new NHL record for wins through the first 15 games of a season.

Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was vying for his third consecutive shutout before the Stars got on the board with 1:22 left in the game. Still, he set a new franchise-record shutout streak at 191:47, surpassing the previous mark of 187:05 set by Ondrej Pavelec in 2014-15.

Hellebuyck turned aside 32 of 33 shots in the victory.

"He was unbelievable all game, the last game, and the game before," Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov said postgame. "He's a rock back there."

The reigning and two-time Vezina Trophy winner now owns a sparkling .935 save percentage and a 1.83 goals-against average in 12 games this season.

The Jets are the fourth team in the expansion era to lead the NHL in goals per game (4.47) and goals against per game (2.07) through 15 contests, joining the 1984-85 Oilers, the 2005-06 Senators, and the 202-23 Bruins. Their +36 goal differential is 14 better than the next best mark in the league entering Saturday's evening late of games.

Winnipeg's 67 goals are the most by a team through 15 games since the Buffalo Sabres' 68 in 2006-07 - a total which includes shootout-deciding tallies. Only the 2005-06 Senators (75), the 2005-06 Flyers (68), and the 1995-96 Penguins (78) have scored more in the last 30 years.

Head coach Scott Arniel - no doubt the early favorite for the Jack Adams Award - preached that his players should relish the team's historic start.

"These players, they do have to recognize that it's an amazing feat they've done so far," Arniel said. "We'd like to just keep this going a little bit longer."

Winnipeg's lone defeat came against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 28. The Jets are only the second team in NHL history with multiple win streaks of at least six games through the first 15 contests of a season.

"This is such a team effort," Arniel added. "This isn't (Hellebuyck) winning every game. This isn't (the) Scheifele line winning us every game. To me, this is 23 guys. This has been unbelievable in the sense how everyone has contributed."

Wins were moderately tougher to come by before the 2005 lockout when games ended in ties after overtime. But the Jets have yet to need a shootout, winning 11 games in regulation and three in overtime. However, the likelihood of games ending in overtime increased in 2015-16 when the NHL switched from 4-on-4 to 3-on-3 in the extra frame.

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