Jets fall to Vegas 6-2 and get eliminated from playoff contention

In the end, this uphill climb was simply too much to overcome for the Winnipeg Jets.

Despite a mostly solid effort coming out of the Olympic break that includes a record of 13-7-4 since Feb. 24, the Jets playoff hopes were officially extinguished when the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Seattle Kraken on Monday night.

Later that evening, the Jets were beaten 6-2 at T-Mobile Arena by the Vegas Golden Knights, who remain in the pole position in the chase for top spot in the Pacific Division.

“Yeah, it sucks,” Jets centre Mark Scheifele told reporters in Las Vegas. “We were pushing until the end and it’s a tough reality.”

An 11-game winless skid (0-7-4) between Dec. 13 and Jan. 8 – combined with a stretch of just one victory in 15 games (1-10-4) contributed greatly to the Jets undoing as they will miss out on the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2021-22 season.

A lack of secondary scoring and a sharp dip in special teams, especially with a power play that fell from first overall last season to the bottom third of the NHL this season, were also prominent factors.

“You know what, it’s a terrible feeling,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel told reporters in Las Vegas. “We went from 11 points down to one at one time. It’s a tough feeling. I know the guys are hurting. We all want to be in the playoffs, that’s what our job is.”

The Jets, who slipped to 35-33-12 for the season, will close out the road portion of the schedule on Tuesday night at Delta Centre against the Utah Mammoth.

Here’s a closer look at what happened in Sin City:

THE MILESTONE(S)

Scheifele became the second player in franchise history to reach 100 points, thanks to an assist early in the third period.

Scheifele joins Marian Hossa (who had 100 in 2006-07) as the only players to hit the century mark.

“Yeah, I’m very blessed. I’ve played with some amazing players,” Scheifele told reporters. “I’m a very blessed man. I’m proud of myself and I know there’s still more (to come), so that’s exciting.”

Looking back at Jets 1.0 NHL history, just three players eclipsed 100 points: Dale Hawerchuk, Paul MacLean and Teemu Selanne.

Fittingly, the assist for Scheifele came on Gabriel Vilardi’s 30th goal of the campaign.

Later in the third period, Vilardi and Kyle Connor assisted on Scheifele’s 35th goal of the season, moving Connor to 90 points for the third time in his NHL career and boosting Scheifele to 101 points.

“It’s impressive. What a year he’s had through all the ups and downs of our season,” Arniel told reporters. “He’s been one of the consistent guys, right from the start of the year to today. He’s one of our leaders, and I’m real proud of him (getting) that many points.”

THE SEASON FINALE?

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck made his 10th consecutive start and 21st in the past 23 games on Monday and there’s a good chance it’s going to be his final outing of the season.

Hellebuyck, who allowed five goals on 20 shots in 40 minutes of action in Saturday’s 7-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, made 32 saves on Monday in what was his 57th NHL start of the season.

When you add the five games he started for the United States, Hellebuyck reached 62 appearances – many of which were of the high leverage variety.

Hellebuyck is now 23-22-11 with a 2.86 goals-against average and .895 save percentage.

It’s the first time in Hellebuyck’s career that he finishes with a save percentage below .900.

Look for Eric Comrie to get the call against the Mammoth on Tuesday and it wouldn’t come as a big surprise if Dominic DiVincentiis is recalled to play in Thursday’s regular season finale against the San Jose Sharks.

THE DEBUT

Jets forward prospect Brayden Yager made his NHL debut on Monday, skating on the fourth line with Nikita Chibrikov and veteran Nino Niederreiter.

In addition to his even-strength minutes, Yager had an opportunity to contribute on the penalty kill (where he had two minutes and 30 seconds of action), showing some of the skills (including his skating and hockey sense) that should allow him to grow into an NHL player in the near future.

Yager finished with one shot on goal and took 17 shifts for 10:05 of action.

Chibrikov suited up in his first NHL game since Nov. 11, recording a shot on goal and getting under the skin of the opponent after knocking down Golden Knights defenceman Brayden McNabb with a heavy hit in the offensive zone.

McNabb retaliated with a cross-check on Chibrikov later in the shift and after a scrum ensued, the Russian winger was assessed coincidental roughing minors with Ivan Barbashev.

Chibrikov had one shot on goal and two hits in 7:27 of action.

THE KEY PLAY

Rasmus Andersson restored a three-goal cushion 63 seconds after Gabriel Vilardi got the Jets on the board.

THE THREE STARS

1. Jack Eichel, Golden Knights: One goal, three assists.
2. Mark Stone, Golden Knights: One goal, two assists.
3. Ramsus Andersson, Golden Knights: One goal, two assists.

STONE SNIPES

Winnipegger Mark Stone scored a shorthanded goal on a one-timer after a slick pass from Jack Eichel to open the scoring.

The former Brandon Wheat Kings captain added two assists to give him 28 goals and 73 points in 58 games this season.

Stone has been heating up at a perfect time for the Golden Knights and he’s produced seven goals and 12 points during the past nine games.

EXTRA! EXTRA!

The Jets went one-for-five on the power play but also allowed a shorthanded goal, while the penalty kill gave up two goals on seven opportunities.

The Jets made one change on defence, inserting Colin Miller on the back end for Neal Pionk, who joins forwards Alex Iafallo and Vladislav Namestnikov on the sidelines with injuries. Miller chipped in an assist, which was his second of the season in 16 games.

Defenceman Ville Heinola was the lone healthy scratch for the Jets.

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