SCHEIFELE SUPERB AS JETS WIN SECOND STRAIGHT
It’s still an uphill battle but the Winnipeg Jets aren’t dead yet.
Tuesday night, thanks to Mark Scheifele’s Gordie Howe hat-trick – a goal, two assists and a fight with Winnipegger Brett Howden – the Jets upset the visiting Vegas Golden Knights 4-1.
As 13,478 patrons looked on at Canada Life Centre, the Jets built a 3-0 lead in the second period and then hung on to win their second straight game and improve to 30-29-12 on the season. The Jets now have points in six of their last seven games (4-1-2) and are still five points behind the Nashville Predators in the race for the final playoff spot in the West.
With 11 games remaining, the Jets and Seattle have 72 points, Los Angeles has 73 and Nashville, who has won five straight, has 77. The Jets don’t have an easy road ahead, however. They have home-and-home contests against the Colorado Avalanche, the best team in the NHL, starting on Thursday in Winnipeg and also play seven of their final 11 on the road.
Tuesday night, the stars were Scheifele, who was superb, along with linemate Kyle Connor, who had a goal and an assist, and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck who made 26 saves and won his 18th game of the season.
Scheifele, who now has 32 goals and 54 assists and is seventh in scoring in the NHL, is only one point away from his career high of 87. When asked about his Gordie Howe hat-trick, Scheifele laughed: “I think it’s fourth of my career, so it’s nothing new.” Both Scheifele and Connor scored their 32nd goals of the season.
Despite the fact the Golden Knights dominated the first period (at the 9:59 mark, Vegas had outshot Winnipeg 9-0), the Jets opened the scoring at 17:25 of the first period on a classic Jets play: Scheifele dug the puck out of the corner and got it back to Josh Morrissey who whipped a pass to Connor who one-timed a shot past Vegas goaltender Adin Hill. It was a goal on Winnipeg’s fifth shot of the game and while the Jets led 1-0 after the first period, they were outshot 13-5.
Perfetti scores off the great pass from Vilardi (Photo by Danny Truong)
Despite the fact Vegas controlled the play, the Jets piled it on in the second. Alex Iafallo extended Winnipeg’s lead to 2-0 at 2:08 of the second period. After a turnover by Vegas’ wildly overrated defenceman – and marginal Olympian -- Shea Theodore, Scheifele drilled a perfect cross-ice pass into Iafallo’s stick who ripped a wrister under the bar to Hill’s short-side. It was a beauty – Iafallo’s 12th of the year.
Cole Perfetti made it to 3-0 at 4:06 as Dylan DeMelo drilled a stretch pass to Gabriel Vilardi who led a three-on-rush into Vegas territory. Vilardi waited then laid a perfect pass onto Perfetti’s stick and all he had to do was tap it into an empty net behind Hill. It was Perfetti’s 10th of the season and Vilardi’s 32nd assist.
Perfetti celebrates his goal (Photo by Danny Truong)
Colton. Sissons cut the Jets lead to 3-1 on the power play at 10:26, but the Jets took back the momentum and eventually got an empty-netter from Scheifele at 18:42 to send the fans home happy.
The three stars were 1. Scheifele, 2. Connor and 3. Hellebuyck. Vegas outshot Winnipeg 27-21 but the Jets won 52 per cent of the faceoffs and outhit the visitors 22-11.
Winnipeg is back in action at Canada Life Centre at 7 p.m. (CDT) on Thursday night as the Avalanche come back to town. The Jets go to Colorado for the re-match on Saturday at 6 p.m. (CDT).
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