WINNIPEG — Mark Scheifele wasn’t happy with the way he played in the Winnipeg Jets’ 5-0 loss to the Florida Panthers last weekend.
He responded in a big way in Tuesday’s rematch, recording his ninth career hat trick in a 6-3 victory over the Panthers.
“I just didn’t like the way that we were playing or the way I was playing, so I felt like I had to do something,” Scheifele said.
The victory ended Winnipeg’s two-game losing skid and the club remains first in the NHL with 32 points (16-3-0).
“It’s just a sign of a lot of good character in this room that we wanted to bounce back and we wanted to have a good game in front of our home crowd before we go on the road for what feels like forever,” Scheifele said. “It was a great all-around effort by everyone.”
The Jets won in front of the third sellout of the season at Canada Life Centre. The team begins a six-game road trip Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Scheifele’s ninth hat trick set a record for the Jets 2.0 version. Patrik Laine had recorded eight.
“He came out and was a leader,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said of Scheifele. “He led. When your best players can be your best players in games like that, it certainly helps you have success."
Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist and Morgan Barron scored twice, shorthanded into an empty net, for his first goals of the season. Josh Morrissey and Nikolaj Ehlers each added a pair of helpers.
Connor Hellebuyck made 20 saves for Winnipeg.
Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and assist. A.J. Greer and Sam Reinhart also scored for the reigning Stanley Cup-champion Panthers (12-6-1). Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 21 of 25 shots.
Scheifele and Connor are tied for the team lead in goals with 12 apiece, and points with 24 each.
Winnipeg led 2-0 after the first period on Connor and Scheifele’s goals.
“I just thought our battle level went way up tonight, throughout,” Arniel said. “Even at the start of the game, our battle level was really good. We knew it was going to have to be that way.
“They're a heavy team and they play hard. They come at you. We did a fantastic job of turning the tide and going and playing our game and getting after them."
Scheifele made it 3-0 late in the second period on the power play, but Greer notched a goal less than two minutes later when the puck went in off captain Adam Lowry’s skate at 17:24.
Reinhart closed the gap with a power-play goal at 7:10 of the third, but Scheifele scored his third goal two and half minutes later, and six seconds after Winnipeg’s man advantage ended.
“(Connor) made an amazing pass on the hat-trick goal, (Ehlers) an amazing pass. Gabe (Vilardi) a great drive through,” Scheifele said. “I’m blessed to play with the guys that I play with. They were fantastic tonight.”
Arniel has seen growth in Scheifele.
“His maturing, for me, in the last year or two and a half years, he takes a lot of pride,” Arniel said. “Like I said, he takes a lot of pride now... I shouldn't say now. I mean he probably always has, but just in the fact of being responsible without the puck.”
Tkachuk viewed Scheifele’s third goal as a turning point.
“It's tough to lose that one when you fight back to get close and then you have a power play, and then feel like we have all the momentum there,” he said. “And then just a couple plays that probably want to change and then it's game’s over.”
Tkachuk made it 4-3 on the power play at 16:38 of the third, but Barron pointed his pair 21 seconds apart in the final two minutes.
Barron was the last regular Winnipeg forward to have a goal this season.
Notes: Winnipeg is 12-0-0 when leading after the second period. … The Jets also improved to 9-1-0 at Canada Life Centre, which set the franchise mark for most wins through the first 10 home games of a season. … Reinhart’s goal on the power play at 7:10 of the third period extended his point streak to 11 games with nine goals and eight assists. Aleksander Barkov picked up an assist to move his point streak to nine games with three goals and 14 assists.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2024
Judy Owen, The Canadian Press