Scheifele scores three in Jets’ victory over big D

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This article was published 02/11/2017 (2866 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets — dubbed a “pack of wolves” earlier in the day by Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock for their tenacious play of late — bared their teeth and went big-game hunting Thursday night as they took down their target with aggression and precision.

“I would like to think that’s how it feels when we’re on our game, when we’re all over the puck, playing with speed,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said of the analogy following a 5-2 victory over their Central Division rivals.

Winnipeg raced out to a 3-0 lead before the game was barely 15 minutes old and improved to 7-3-2 on the year. They now have points in six straight games (4-0-2) and nine of their last 10 (7-1-2).

It started friendly enough, with the Jets’ Mark Scheifele and the Stars’ Tyler Seguin engaging in a rock-paper-scissors contest at the end of warm-up to determine who would be the final player to leave the ice. Scheifele came out on top, drawing a big cheer from the crowd at Bell MTS Place.

Scheifele then led the way once the real action began and things took on a law-of-the-jungle feel with plenty of extra-curricular activity. He scored his second-career hat trick with his parents looking on from the stands.

“We were ready to play. Obviously, we want to have a good start every game. It’s just a matter of ramping ourselves up before we get out there and having a good warm-up and just being prepared,” said Scheifele.

Perhaps the best sign for Winnipeg was their dormant power play finally coming to life, striking twice in the opening period against the league’s second-best penalty killing unit. Winnipeg began the game just 5-for-37 with the extra man. Another positive is they didn’t give Dallas a single power play, keeping the league’s No. 1 unit at bay.

Scheifele wasted no time on the first power play, one-timing a beautiful cross-ice feed from Blake Wheeler just over halfway through the first.

Just over two minutes later, Patrik Laine broke out of a four-game pointless drought by ripping home a terrible giveaway by Stars defenceman Esa Lindell. Laine feasted on Dallas last season, scoring eight times and adding four assists in five games.

“It’s only one goal, but hopefully I’m not struggling in the next game,” the always blunt Laine said following the game. “I think we had a really good game with our line, even though they scored two times when we were on the ice, but I think it was a really, really positive game.”

The Jets continued to swarm, as Dustin Byfuglien threw a big hit on Dallas forward Gemel Smith that drew a crowd. Defenceman Greg Pateryn was sent to the box for cross-checking Byfuglien in retaliation, while Smith ended up fighting Brendan Lemieux.

Tyler Myers made them pay, blasting a shot from the point that beat a screened Ben Bishop.

Dallas got one back late in the first period, as Alexander Radulov showed great patience in deking Connor Hellebuyck and roofing a shot.

Winnipeg continued a pattern of strong first periods, and they’ve now outscored opponents 20-9 this season.

Things continued to be heated in the second period. Byfuglien and Dallas captain Jamie Benn dropped the gloves after Byfuglien ran Radulov hard into the boards.

“Obviously two great players, two guys that play incredibly hard. We have a lot of respect over here for how he (Benn) plays. He’s trying to get his team going a little bit. Buff stood in there and did a great job, so good on him for taking care of that. You’re not going to see that one very often, but when it happens it’s exciting for the fans,” Wheeler said of the scrap between two unlikely combatants.

The chippiness continued moments later when Bishop threw a punch at the face of Lemieux, with both players drawing penalties.

Brandon Tanev looked to have made it 4-1 late in the second as he set up in the slot, took a pass from Shawn Matthias and scored. However, Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock challenged for goaltender interference, arguing Scheifele made contact with Bishop just as the puck went by him.

After a brief review, the goal was overturned, much to the chagrin of the home crowd and Jets head coach Paul Maurice.

“I disagree with the call. I have absolutely no idea why it wasn’t a goal. Where the goalie puts his stick is not on Mark. If you’re going to put it in front of Mark, then it’s going to be hard to get across the crease. That’s a goal all day long,” Maurice said after the game.

That proved to be a savvy move by Hitchcock, as his team would make it a one-goal game late in the middle frame. Mattias Janmark beat Hellebuyck with a wrist shot through a screen.

But Scheifele put an end to any comeback thoughts just 1:47 into the third period, deflecting a shot from Josh Morrissey past Bishop to make it 4-2.

He added an empty-net goal in the final minute to seal the victory.

Jets foward Kyle Connor was awarded a penalty shot midway through the third period but flubbed on his attempt, failing to direct the puck on net.

Hellebuyck was strong once again in his third straight start, allowing two goals on 23 shots to improve to 7-0-1.

The Stars were wrapping up a five-game road trip in which they dropped the first two in Colorado and Edmonton, then won in Calgary and Vancouver. They fell to 7-6-0.

Winnipeg hosts the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night before heading out for a three-game road trip that begins Monday in Dallas and continues on to Las Vegas and Arizona.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg