Brock Boeser scores twice as Canucks down Jets for 4th straight win
Nils Hoglander, Zack MacEwen also score goals for Vancouver
A change of mindset is helping Brock Boeser rediscover his game this year.
The Canucks right-winger scored twice Saturday, lifting Vancouver to a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.
With eight goals on the season, Boeser also passed Edmonton's Connor McDavid for most goals in the league.
"I think my shot's feeling really good, obviously," Boeser said after Saturday's win. "Obviously, there's been issues with injuries in the past. But I've been feeling really good and I've been really focusing on staying healthy and feeling good on the ice and I think it's showing."
WATCH | Hoglander bats in winner against Winnipeg:
The hot start comes after a 2019-20 campaign where the 23-year-old from Burnsville, Minn., struggled to find the back of the net, registering 16 goals and 29 assists in 57 regular-season games.
"I think I was in my head the most I've ever been in my head in my hockey career," Boeser said. "This year is a fresh start and I just felt like I needed to get back to my game, just not overthinking things, just playing off instinct."
His first goal on Saturday came just 29 seconds into the game.
The tally gave Vancouver a "huge confidence boost," said teammate Zack MacEwen.
"You don't want to take that for granted and kind of let off the gas at the start of the game," said MacEwen, who scored his first goal of the year in the win. "I think that's just a good way for us to get rolling right out of the gate and build off that and just keep it going from there."
Canucks rookie Nils Hoglander had the game winner before the end of the end of the first frame, tapping in a puck that had bounced off the top of Winnipeg's net.
Boeser rounded out the scoring with an empty-net strike with 2:01 left on the game clock.
Saturday marked the first time the Canucks (6-5-0) beat the Jets since December 2016. Winnipeg had 10 consecutive wins across the stretch.
WATCH | Week 2 roundup of the NHL's North Division:
Canucks coach Travis Green said his squad wasn't thinking about bumping the slump heading into the matchup.
"We're a team that's good enough that we can beat another good team. Tonight all we wanted to worry about was our game," he said. "It was definitely nice to come in here and get a win."
Vancouver controlled the play through much of the game, outshooting Winnipeg 16-6 in the third period alone.
"That's the NHL for you. Any team can win any night," said Hellebuyck, who stopped 35-of-38 shots for the Jets. "Vancouver, they earned this one. We've got to move on and we've got to keep racking up as many wins as possible because this division's going to get tight."
The team that worked the hardest won on Saturday, said Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice.
"We got beat is the cleanest way to put it," he said. "After the first period, they were faster and they were harder and heavier on us. We didn't move the puck well at all.
"But that's not the story of the game. We had opportunities to win things and get it moving and we just didn't."
