Jets look to leave losses to Leafs behind

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This article was published 22/12/2024 (264 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mark Scheifele doesn’t believe in curses.

So when it was brought to his attention on Sunday afternoon that the Winnipeg Jets haven’t beaten the Toronto Maple Leafs since Dec. 5 of 2021, the Winnipeg Jets centre was quick to shrug off the suggestion from social media that his words from that day could somehow had an impact on the six losses in six games that have followed.

“No. I don’t even know what I said,” said Scheifele, whose Jets face the Maple Leafs on Monday afternoon at Scotiabank Arena in the final game before the holiday break.

As Scheifele was involved in the post-game celebration back on that day in 2021, the Kitchener product was reminded that he asked his teammates: “is there anything better than beating the Leafs?”

Anyone who has been around Scheifele for any length of time knows that he was simply caught up in the moment and having fun with the fellas, even if a segment of the Maple Leafs fan base isn’t letting him forget about the words that were uttered.

“That was like six years ago,” said Scheifele. “Three years ago, OK. Being a kid from close to Toronto, obviously you want to beat the team that you grew up that close to.

“It’s always fun to go to Toronto. I have so many friends and family that, first of all, are Leafs fans, and also they get to come to the game, it’s that close. Obviously I’m always excited to play those games.”

Although Scheifele was a Detroit Red Wings fan growing up, playing in Toronto is near and dear to his heart — especially since his first NHL goal was scored there on Oct. 19, 2011, on James Reimer.

Asked to recall the moment, Scheifele provided the intricate details that led to the memorable marker.

Those memories include Brett MacLean trying to make a seam pass that ended up on the stick of Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien, whose heavy shot off the pad landed directly on the tape of Scheifele.

“I do remember it very vividly,” said Scheifele. “I was just sitting backdoor. It was a pretty easy one.”

Scheifele has scored 314 more goals since his first in the NHL and he’s delivered 16 of those goals and recorded 37 points in 29 career games against the Maple Leafs.

There’s some additional motivation for the Jets as they get set for the second and final meeting of the regular season with the Maple Leafs, who were the team that stopped their season-opening winning streak at eight games back on Oct. 28.

“It wasn’t our best outing and that’s what probably sticks out the most,” said Scheifele. “When they were here earlier this year, we obviously didn’t play our game. They played well. They’ve been playing really good hockey. They have a great squad over there and they’ve been playing really good as of late.

“We just have to be at our best. We weren’t happy with the one that we played earlier this season, when they beat us in our building. We just have to stick to our structure, stick to our game plan, and worry about ourselves.”

Although the Jets made things interesting with a strong third period, the Maple Leafs had built a 4-0 lead before the second period was four minutes old.

“From the time I’ve been here last year, if I remember correctly they were both tight games,” said Jets forward Gabe Vilardi. “This year, they kind of came in and stomped us in the first period and then we rebounded in the second and third, but it was a little too late.”

The Jets are coming off a tidy 5-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild that featured an impressive start and one of the most complete games of the entire season.

The Maple Leafs continue to battle for top spot in the Atlantic Division, but they were a bit sloppy in a 6-3 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday and are expected to be without top centre Auston Matthews and starting goalie Anthony Stolarz for Monday’s matchup.

When it comes to recent success or struggles against a particular team — whether it’s the eight consecutive wins over the Wild or the six straight losses to the Maple Leafs — the Jets aren’t putting a whole lot of stock into it.

“I think we got another win streak after we lost to them anyways, right? So hopefully we can get another one of those going,” said Vilardi, referring to the seven-game winning streak that followed the loss to the Maple Leafs. “You can say some teams play better against other teams. I don’t know if it’s systems that counter the other team or whatever, but yeah.”

What can’t be disputed is that the Jets gained some valuable breathing room in the Central Division standings by defeating a Wild team that could have pulled within a point with an outright win, but now sit five points behind them.

“As a team, (if) you win 5-0 against a team that’s right behind you, it’s always a good thing,” said Vilardi.

And if the Jets find a way to beat the Maple Leafs on Monday, Scheifele probably won’t have to answer many more questions about a harmless comment made in the moment more than three years ago.

JETS NOTES: Jets captain Adam Lowry and forward Nikolaj Ehlers skipped Sunday’s on-ice workout for maintenance. Lowry left Saturday’s game in the third period with an undisclosed injury, while Ehlers has been back for two games since sitting out the previous nine with a lower-body issue. The Jets are currently carrying one extra healthy forward, so if either injury was deemed to be something that could keep either player out of the lineup, another player would have likely been recalled from the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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