After back-to-back blowout wins over teams near the bottom of the standings, could the Winnipeg Jets continue that strong play against a team tied atop the NHL in points percentage?
On Tuesday night in the Big Apple, the Jets answered that question with an emphatic “yes” as they took down the New York Rangers 4-2 at Madison Square Garden in a showdown of division leaders.
Mark Scheifele had a hat trick and the Jets rode a three-goal second period to their third straight win as they start the five-game road trip with back-to-back victories.
“Obviously any time you go up against one of the best, you want to see where you fit in,” said Scheifele. “We liked some parts of our game and didn’t like some parts of our game, but that’s a great team over there.
“They started to push towards the end and made us work for it, but obviously it’s always a big win going against a good team like the Rangers.”
Kyle Connor scored the other goal for the Jets, while Sean Monahan recorded a pair of assists.
The Jets were without head coach Rick Bowness as he had returned to Winnipeg for what the team called a minor medical procedure. Associate coach Scott Arniel ran the bench and the Jets are now 10-2-2 in games this season where Arniel has called the shots with Bowness absent.
“This is a tough building to win in,” Arniel said. “They’re a real good hockey team and they weren’t going away. You could see them go right to the very end there. They keep pushing. So, I’m real proud of the guys. They played a real solid game and really tried to take a lot of what they want to do out there. We really wanted (to) make them play in their end of the rink. I thought for the most part we did that.”
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The Jets haven’t fared all that well against the upper echelon teams this season, but Scheifele flipped the script against the Rangers with his first hat trick of the season, and eighth of his career as he hit the 20-goal plateau for the ninth straight season.
“He’s been doing it all,” said Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck. “His stats speak for themselves. I think he’s been scoring. I think he’s been really good in the D-zone, faceoffs, he’s been awesome, and he’s been very reliable.”
The win moved the Jets two points ahead of the Dallas Stars in the race for the Central Division title. But the Colorado Avalanche were also victorious to keep pace with the Jets, giving both teams 93 points for a share of top spot.
The Jets made one lineup change from Sunday as Dylan Samberg replaced Logan Stanley. Newcomer Colin Miller and Cole Perfetti were once again healthy scratches.
Both teams had several great scoring chances in an entertaining opening period, including one breakaway per side, but Hellebuyck and Igor Shesterkin allowed nothing past them.
The Rangers carried a 13-8 edge in shots on goal into the second, but Winnipeg came out strong in the middle frame, scoring the opening goal just over four minutes in.
The Jets won a puck battle in the New York end and got the puck back to Nate Schmidt at the point. His shot was broken up on the way to the net but it landed on the stick of Scheifele and he swept it past Shesterkin for his 20th of the season.
The Rangers responded on the power play at the 9:30 mark of the period. Hellebuyck stopped a shot from Alexis Lafreniere but it created a big rebound that Alex Wennberg potted into an open net for his first goal since being traded to New York by the Seattle Kraken.
The Jets wrestled the lead back with a power play goal of their own nearly three minutes later. Tyler Toffoli snapped a short pass to Sean Monahan in the slot and his shot was blocked but it ricocheted to Connor in the corner and he finished from a sharp angle for his 30th of the campaign.
Winnipeg built on their lead with just over two minutes left in the period when Scheifele poked the puck away from Chris Kreider at the Jets blueline and chased it down before rifling a shot past Shesterkin to make it 3-1 after 40 minutes.
The Jets did a great job in allowing very little in terms of decent looks for the Rangers as the third period ticked along, but with just under three minutes to go, New York pulled the goalie and the onslaught began in the Winnipeg end.
Hellebuyck stood his ground to keep it a two-goal game until there was 1:54 to go when Lafreniere got the Rangers within one. A point shot from Adam Fox was blocked in the slot and landed on the stick of the former first-overall pick before he roofed it past Hellebuyck.
Some tense moments followed in the Winnipeg end before the Jets got a clear and with 8.9 seconds to go, Scheifele slid the puck into the empty net from just inside the New York blue line to complete the hat trick and seal an impressive win for his team.
Hellebuyck finished the night with 38 saves, while Shesterkin turned aside 23 shots in defeat.
The Jets will look to make it four wins in a row when they continue this five-game road trip in New Jersey Thursday. Pregame show begins at 4 p.m. on 680 CJOB with puck drop shortly after 6 p.m.
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