Inside job: Late tip from Scheifele gives Jets first win

Mark Scheifele went to the hard areas and his brilliant hand-eye coordination took care of the rest.

With the game tied just past the midway point of the third period, the Winnipeg Jets forward got inside position on defenceman Cody Ceci and then deftly redirected the puck out of the air after a point shot/pass from Josh Morrissey for what turned out to be the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday afternoon.

“I’m not much of a talker on the ice anyway, but he’s a pretty good player,” Scheifele said of Morrissey, quickly deflecting praise. “He knew what he was doing.”

Scheifele and Morrissey have spent many hours working out together during recent off-seasons and this play was another example of how some of that extra work can pay dividends.

“I just tried to get it through for a forward to get a stick on it and change direction as that is probably not going in on most goalies from the corner of the blue line,” said Morrissey. “ But, with a stick in front it makes it tough, so it was a great play by him and crazy hand eye, a big goal for us.”

It was an impressive play that wouldn’t have been possible without the determination to win a one-on-one battle in front of the net.

“You know what, it comes down to a moment and (Scheifele’s) tip was that moment,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel, who was much happier with the overall effort compared to the 5-4 loss to the Dallas Stars in the season opener.

The Jets, now 1-1-0, open a two-game road trip on Monday afternoon against the New York Islanders.

It’s well known that Scheifele wants to get off to a good start this season and while his focus is on helping the Jets succeed, and a hot start will enhance his opportunity to suit up for Canada at the Olympics in February.

You can be certain that Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong and the rest of the management team has noticed that Scheifele is already up to two goals and five points after just two games.

Let’s take a closer look at what transpired in the contest:

CLOSING IT OUT: There was a hang-on-for-dear-life element to the final two-and-a-half minutes, as the Jets had to survive a roughing minor to Neal Pionk and then an extra-attacker that was eventually a six-on-four after Tanner Pearson was called for tripping with 18 seconds to go in regulation time.

But rather than give up the equalizer, the Jets did a great job of blocking a bunch of shots — including three by defenceman Logan Stanley — and keeping most of the quality chances the Kings generated to the outside.

“It took a lot of sacrifice,” said Scheifele. “(Stanley) even took a saucer pass off the head. A lot of big blocks.”

Paying the price is something great teams do, whether it’s Game 2 of the regular season or Game 7 of a playoff series.

“Yeah, that’s just commitment, doing the tough things to win a hockey game,” said Morrissey. “Guys are putting their bodies on the line. It was awesome. That’s the kind of stuff you need to do to win games.”

POWERFUL STUFF: After going zero-for-four with the man-advantage in the season opener against the Stars, the Jets power play struck on the second chance on Saturday.

Thanks to some nifty passing in tight spaces by Kyle Connor and Gabe Vilardi, the Jets were able to get the puck in front of the net to Alex Iafallo, who had plenty of time to bury his shot past Darcy Kuemper.

The puck movement was crisp and the Jets could have easily added another goal (or two), had it not been for the play of Kuemper, who finished with 28 saves in the contest.

“It easily could have been a 3-0 game early. Kuemper made some really big saves,” said Scheifele. “That (power play) looked a lot better, especially against a good killing team and some good players over there, a good goalie. We just need to keep that up.”

The Jets finished one-for-four and are now one-for-eight through two games.

THE KEY PLAY

Scheifele’s redirection of Morrissey’s point shot at 11:47 of the third period proved to be the game-winner.

THE THREE STARS

Mark Scheifele, Jets – Scored twice, including the game-winner.

Adrian Kempe, Kings – Delivered a goal and an assist, adding five shots on goal and four hits.

Connor Hellebuyck, Jets – A 29-save performance included several during a late flurry by the Kings.

THE INJURY

The hits just keep on coming for the Jets, as defenceman Haydn Fleury is the latest player to suffer an injury.

Already without Dylan Samberg, Adam Lowry and Cole Perfetti, Fleury blocked a heavy shot by Adrian Kempe and suffered a lower-body injury.

Fleury finished the shift but went down the tunnel late in the second period and while tested it on the ice before the third period began, he made his way back to the room for further evaluation and did not return.

Fleury took 15 shifts for 11:42 of ice time, recording three hits and three blocked shots.

“Yeah, he got hit with that shot. He’s pretty sore,” said Arniel. “It caught him on the side of the knee cap. He’ll wake up (Sunday) and we’ll see how he is, see how he’s doing.”

Depending on the severity of the injury, the Jets might have to recall another blue-liner for the road trip.

EXTRA, EXTRA

Jets forward Gabe Vilardi recorded his first two assists of the season, had five shots on goal and 10 shot attempts in the contest.

The Jets scratches were defenceman Colin Miller and forwards Brad Lambert and Parker Ford.

The Manitoba Moose opened the American Hockey League season with a 4-1 victory over the Laval Rocket on Friday night. Jets forward prospect Brayden Yager scored his first professional goal to open the scoring on his first shift, with Colby Barlow supplying the primary assist. Danny Zhilkin scored a goal and added an assist, Walker Duehr scored a goal and goalie Dom DiVincentiis made 36 saves. The Moose and Rocket play again at Canada Life Centre on Sunday afternoon.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld