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Rangers recent road woes continue after getting walloped in Winnipeg

New York Rangers v Winnipeg Jets

WINNIPEG, MB - DECEMBER 18: Mark Stuart #5 of the Winnipeg Jets puts pressure on Emerson Etem #96 of the New York Rangers as goaltender Connor Hellebuyck #30 tries to look around them in first period action in an NHL game at the MTS Centre on December 18, 2015 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Marianne Helm/Getty Images)

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WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) Bryan Little scored two first-period goals, Blake Wheeler had four assists and the Winnipeg Jets beat the New York Rangers 5-2 on Friday night.

Little scored his 11th and 12th goals of the season in a 2:31 span for a 2-0 lead.

His line - with wingers Andrew Ladd and Wheeler - combined for nine points after only recording four points as a line over the past four games.

Winnipeg also got goals from blue liners Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers, as well as Ladd on the empty net.

J.T. Miller and Dan Boyle scored the Rangers.

Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck picked up his fifth win in seven starts with a 26-save effort. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves and fell to 15-8-3 on the year.

Little opened the scoring 5:03 into the first period after corralling Wheeler’s pass.

The duo hooked up again moments later. Little tapped in Wheeler’s hard pass at the side of the net following the right winger’s nifty work to find open space to set up the play.

The goal was initially waved off, but replays showed Little’s shot hitting the camera just inside the net.

Miller cut Winnipeg’s lead in half with his sixth of the season at 14:01. The Rangers forward was prone on the ice but still managed to get a stick on the puck, which had trickled behind Hellebuyck following Kevin Hayes’ initial shot.

The Jets regained their two-goal cushion off the faceoff late in the period. Mark Scheifele won the draw clean back to Byfuglien, who launched a one-timed rocket for his ninth of the year.

Winnipeg dominated much of the second period, but an unsportsmanlike penalty to Ladd in the second half of the frame allowed the Rangers back in the game.

Ryan McDonagh’s point shot was saved by Hellebuyck, but the rebound found Boyle’s stick and soon after the back of the net to cut Winnipeg’s lead to 3-2 at 14:12.

Wheeler found Myers in space, and the big defenseman wired a snapshot off the crossbar and in for the 4-2 lead.

NOTES: Chris Thorburn was given a standing ovation by the home crowd in the first period after breaking the franchise record for most games played. Thorburn was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 2001 and played in his 595th game for the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise, surpassing the old mark set by Ilya Kovalchuk.