Scheifele Leads Jets to 6-2 Shellacking of Visiting Seattle

JETS GET TWO FROM CONNOR EN ROUTE TO ANOTHER MUST WIN

In another game the Winnipeg Jets absolutely had to win, it was Mark Scheifele who led his team to a 6-2 shellacking of the Seattle Kraken.

Scheifele had three assists – the second helper was the 900th point of Scheifele’s career – while Kyle Connor scored two goals and Gabriel Vilardi had a goal and an assist as the Jets won their second straight game and improved to 34-31-12, briefly putting them a single point behind Nashville and Los Angeles in the race for the final Wild Card in the Western Conference.

Trouble is, late on Monday night, Nashville plays at Los Angeles in a game that will leave one of those teams in sole possession of the final spot, three points ahead of Winnipeg.

Monday night, in front of 14,430 at Canada Life Centre, the Jets fell behin early but dominated the final two periods to blow the Kraken out of the building.

Seattle opened the scoring at 9:17 of the first period when Jordan Eberle flipped a backhander past Connor Hellebuyck. It was Eberle’s 25th of the season.

It was an odd period. The Jets were solid for the first three or four minutes, then Seattle took over and completely controlled the next eight minutes, then after they scored, the Jets were quite good for the final eight minutes. Seattle outshot Winnipeg 13-7, but had Mark Scheifele not been foiled by Grubauer -- twice -- on a clear-cut breakaway, the score might not have been 1-1.

In the second period, the Jets took a 2-1 lead at 9:55 with another power play goal. Gabriel Vilardi grabbed a loose but contested puck in front of Grubauer and ripped it under the bar for his 29th of the season. Toews (17th) and Mark Scheifele (61st) picked up the assists.

The Jets made it 3-1 with yet another power play goal at 12:09 when Kyle Connor’s shot deflected off the stick of Seattle D-man Ryan Lindgren and eluded a stunned Grubauer. It was Connor’s 37th of the season as Morrissey (41st) and Scheifele (62nd) picked up the assists. It was Scheifele’s 900th career NHL point – all with the Winnipeg Jets.

Scheifele Thanks the Crowd after notching his 900th career point (Photo by Danny Truong)

After two periods, the Jets were in a good place. They had outshot Seattle 20-17 (13-4 in the second period), outhit them 16-11 and had won 58 per cent of the faceoffs. They also led 3-1 in a game they absolutely, positively had to win.

But the Kraken, who had already beaten the Jets twice this season, would not go away. Jared McCann scored at 2:28 with a beautiful wrist shot that Hellebuyck did not see and suddenly it was 3-2.

However, the Jets regained their two-goal lead at 5:59 when Brad Lambert streaked down the right wing and wristed one over Daccord’s shoulder for his third of the year. It was a dynamic goal at just the right time. Adam Lowry (16th) and Neal Pionk (ninth) drew the assists as the Jets had some breathing room again.

The Jets put the game away at 15:19 when Kyle Connor scored his second of the game. After some exciting, scrambly play around the Seattle net, Connor got the puck loose to Scheifele who put a perfect pass back onto Connor’s stick and he fired a laser inside the post to make it 5-2. It was Connor’s 38th of the season and Scheifele’s 63rd assist.

The Jets outshot Seattle 12-7 in the third and 32-24 overall. Winnipeg won 57 per cent of the faceoffs and outhit Seattle 27-16. It was superb effort at a time when the Jets need a superb effort every night.

Of course, Winnipeg will get no rest. The Jets will travel to St. Louis to take on the Blues on Thursday night in another must-win match-up. Game time is 7 p.m. CST on TSN3.