Ehlers and Perfetti score 2 goals each and fast-starting Jets hammer Sharks 8-3

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Nikolaj Ehlers and Cole Perfetti scored two goals each as the Winnipeg Jets stayed unbeaten with an 8-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Friday night.

Perfetti added two assists while Ehlers had one as Winnipeg improved to 4-0-0.

Vlad Namestnikov and Neal Pionk had a goal and three assists each. Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey also scored, while Gabriel Vilardi and Alex Iafallo pitched in with two assists each.

Connor Hellebuyck, who started in his 500th NHL game, made 19 saves for Winnipeg.

Former Jets forward Tyler Toffoli scored on a first-period power play for San Jose, the first time the Jets had given up a power-play goal this season. Toffoli also assisted on Fabian Zetterlund’s third-period goal. Luke Kunin also scored.

San Jose’s Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 13 of 18 shots before being pulled at the 1:46 mark of the second period. He was replaced by Vitek Vanecek who then made 15 saves.

Jets: They came out firing in the first period, taking a 4-1 lead after one. They also took advantage of San Jose penalties, scoring one on a two-man advantage.

Sharks: They appeared tired after losing 4-2 to the Blackhawks in Chicago on Thursday night. Taking three penalties in the opening 20 minutes did not help their cause.

Shortly after Toffoli pulled the Sharks within 3-1 late in the first period, Pionk scored with 1:12 left to restore Winnipeg’s three-goal lead.

The Jets were 4 for 7 on the power play to improve to 7 for 14 this season.

The Jets finish their four-game homestand when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday. The Sharks return home to host the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

San Jose Sharks' Tyler Toffoli (73) tips the puck past Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, second from left, as Jets' Hadyn Fleury (24) defends during first-period NHL hockey game action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) saves the shot from San Jose Sharks' Luke Kunin (11) as Cole Perfetti (91) defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Josh Morrissey (44) and Colin Miller (6) celebrate after Morrissey's goal against the San Jose Sharks during first-period NHL hockey game action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

San Jose Sharks goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) saves the shot from Winnipeg Jets' Gabriel Vilardi (13) as Cody Ceci (4) defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) saves the shot from San Jose Sharks' Henry Thrun (3) as Dylan DeMelo (2) defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Gabriel Vilardi (13) and Nikolaj Ehlers (27) celebrate after Ehlers' goal as San Jose Sharks' Mikael Granlund (64) skates past during first-period NHL hockey game action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

Winnipeg Jets' Nikolaj Ehlers (27) and Cole Perfetti (91) celebrate after Ehlers' goal against the San Jose Sharks during first-period NHL hockey game action in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Instead of pitching his hometown team into the World Series, Jack Flaherty sent the National League Championship Series back to California.

Dominant in the opener, Flaherty flopped in Game 5.

Pete Alonso hit a three-run homer in the first and the Mets beat up Flaherty for five runs in the third inning of a 12-6 victory Friday night that pulled New York to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.

“First time in a while I kind of let the game speed up on me a little bit and didn't make the adjustment in-game that normally gets made,” Flaherty said.

Flaherty's fastball velocity dropped 1.9 mph from his season average and the spin rate was down markedly on his four-seam fastball and knuckle-curve.

“He wasn’t sharp, clearly,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s been fighting something. He’s been under the weather a little bit. So I don’t know if that bled into the stuff, the velocity. I’m not sure.”

A high school teammate of Max Fried and Lucas Giolito at Harvard-Westlake in Los Angeles, Flaherty was dealt to the Dodgers by Detroit on July 30. He insisted "there’s no added frustration” about falling short for LA.

He went 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA for the NL West champion Dodgers during the final two months and lost to rival San Diego in Game 2 of their Division Series when he allowed Fernando Tatis Jr.'s solo homer in the first and David Peralta's two-run drive in the third inning of a 10-2 defeat.

Pitching on six days' rest, the right-hander threw seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball against the Mets in the NLCS opener. Back on normal four days' rest for Game 5, he had his first outing with no strikeouts since Sept. 10, 2022, for St. Louis at Pittsburgh.

Flaherty made his first appearance as a 29-year-old following his birthday Tuesday.

Alonso homered on a slider just 1.12 feet above the plate. Then in the third, Starling Marte pulled a two-run double down the left-field line on a sinker that didn’t, Francisco Alvarez hit an RBI single on another sinker, Francisco Lindor pulled a knuckle-curve into the right-field corner for a run-scoring triple and Brandon Nimmo singled into right field for an 8-1 lead.

“They did a good job in making adjustments and I didn't,” Flaherty said. “That's part of the challenge of it and what makes the postseason so interesting is facing a team two times in a span of five days.”

This story makes editing changes throughout to correct the sequence of the Mets’ third-inning rally and the final score in Game 2 of the Padres-Dodgers NLDS.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty throws against the New York Mets during the first inning in Game 5 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty reacts during the third inning in Game 5 of a baseball NL Championship Series against the New York Mets, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)