Winnipeg Jets flatten Dallas Stars 3-0 for 5th straight victory

Laurent Brossoit stopped 24 shots for his third shutout, David Gustafsson scored on his 24th birthday and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Dallas Stars 3-0 on Thursday night.

The Jets won their fifth consecutive game coming off a six-game winless streak and prevented the Stars from clinching the Central Division title.

Instead, Winnipeg avoided a season sweep by Dallas and matched Colorado in second place with 104 points, five behind the Stars.

Dallas has two games remaining, while the Jets and Avalanche each have three. Winnipeg has clinched the tiebreaker against Colorado with a 2-0 season series lead going into the teams' final meeting Saturday in Denver.

Nikolaj Ehlers opened the scoring with an unassisted goal, his 24th, late in the first period. Gustafsson scored midway through the second. Mark Scheifele added an empty-netter for his 25th.

The Stars, second in the NHL in scoring, were shut out for the third time this season, and first since a 4-0 loss at Tampa Bay on Dec. 4. It was the first time Dallas was blanked at home.

Dallas didn't lose ground in the President's Cup race for the best record in the NHL. The New York Rangers lost to Philadelphia at home and remained one point ahead of the Stars with 110. The Rangers have two games remaining as well.

Brossoit, the backup to Connor Hellebuyck, made several scrambling saves and got a break in the second period when a redirected shot clanged off a post and settled under the 31-year-old journeyman.

The first two shutouts of the season for Brossoit came a week apart in March. His sixth career shutout came in his first action in 10 days. Brossoit is 7-1 in his past eight starts going back to Feb. 20.