Lee Scores Twice For Islanders, But They Lose To Winnipeg

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor each had a goal and an assist on Winnipeg's patchwork top line and the Jets beat the New York Islanders 4-2 on Friday night.

Wheeler played center in place of the injured Mark Scheifele, with Connor on left wing and Patrik Laine on the right. Laine had two assists.

Scheifele missed his first game and is expected to be out six to eight weeks with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

Shawn Matthias, a healthy scratch for 11 straight games, had his first goal of the season, and Adam Lowry tipped in a power-play marker and also had an assist. Connor Hellebuyck made 42 saves to help Winnipeg improve to 14-3-1 at home.

Anders Lee scored twice for the Islanders, and Jaroslav Halak stopped 33 shots.

The Jets led 2-0 after the first period and 2-1 after the second.

Matthias got onto the roster, and the fourth line, with Scheifele's absence and capitalized quickly. On his first shift, he scored off Lowry's rebound at 2:32. The veteran forward only played in one of the previous 21 games and his last goal was March 8.

The new top line clicked to make it 2-0. Laine passed to Connor, who went to the net and then slid the puck across to Wheeler for his 10th goal of the season with 3:03 left in the first.

Lee tipped in John Tavares' one-timer to get his team on the board at 14:46. Tavares extended his point streak to nine games with four goals and 14 assists. Josh Bailey also assisted, moving his point streak to 10 games with six goals and 12 helpers.

The Islanders also outshot the Jets 19-12 in the second.

Winnipeg restored its two-goal lead when Connor scored his 12th of the season at 3:01 of the third off a pass from Laine.

Jets forward Mathieu Perreault hit the post in the third and former Winnipeg captain Andrew Ladd was stymied by Hellebuyck.

Lowry tipped in Jacob Trouba's point shot with just under eight minutes remaining to make it 4-1, and Lee scored his second goal just over four minutes later.

UP NEXT:

Islanders: At Colorado in Sunday night

Jets: At Edmonton on Sunday night.

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