Mark Scheifele scored three goals and added an assist as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the New Jersey Devils 8-4 on Friday night.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice, while Kristian Vesalainen, Josh Morrissey, and Adam Lowry also contributed goals for the Jets. Blake Wheeler tallied three assists, and Pierre-Luc Dubois and Neal Pionk each added two. Connor Hellebuyck made 33 saves.
“We had a tough stretch of hockey,” Scheifele said. “We weren’t happy with our game. But when you do the right things repeatedly and do the simple things, good things happen. I think tonight was just an example of that.”
Ryan Graves had a goal and an assist, and Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, and Nico Hischier also scored for the Devils. Jonathan Bernier allowed six goals on 32 shots through two periods, and Mackenzie Blackwood took over in the third, making six saves.
The Jets jumped to a 3-0 lead less than eight minutes into the game before Severson and Hughes narrowed the gap for the Devils by the end of the first period. Hischier and Graves scored 39 seconds apart to give New Jersey the lead just 1:16 into the second period.
“We were down 3-0, but we battled back hard,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. The first eight minutes (of the second period) were all us. Did some fatigue hit us? Yes. It’s always frustrating to work that hard and not be able to complete the deal. We had all kinds of opportunities to keep coming back, but we didn’t complete the deal.”
Ehlers’ second-night goal tied it 4-4 midway through the second period, with Andrew Copp earning the 100th assist of his career on the play. Morrissey’s point shot deflected off a player in front of Bernier with 4 1/2 minutes left in the period, giving the Jets the lead for good.
“It (two goals) obviously means a lot,” Ehlers said. “You want to help the team any way you can and many of the guys got a point on a goal. Scoring points is fun; there’s no secret to that. But I think we played a game that gave us a chance to win, and we deserve it.”
Scheifele scored his second goal on a power play with six seconds left in the middle period. He took a pass from Pionk, skated the length of the ice, and beat Bernier. Hellebuyck also assisted in the play.
Scheifele completed his hat trick with a one-timer from Wheeler at 9:36 of the third period, making it 7-4. Lowry capped the scoring with 3 1/2 minutes remaining.
“We have to clean up our D-zone,” Hischier said. “There’s no way in this league you’re going to win hockey games when you get scored on that many times, and that’s what happened today. So, we definitely got to clean up.”
The Jets played for the first time since Monday after eight games in 14 days.
“We were able to get some rest, we were able to get fresh legs, and you guys saw that tonight. A lot of guys had a little more pop in their step,” said Scheifele. Having that much time off is huge after having played the amount of games we’ve played in such a short time. We used that to our advantage.”
Scheifele, who had not scored in his previous seven games, opened the scoring just 1:52 into the game. He took a pass from Pionk, stickhandled past the defense, and backhandled a shot over Bernier’s right shoulder.
Ehlers, who ended a five-game goal-scoring drought, scored his first goal at 3:52 with a shot over Bernier’s left shoulder, and Vesalainen converted a perfect setup by Paul Stastny at 7:39 to make it 3-0.
Severson beat Hellebuyck over his right shoulder from inside the faceoff circle at 9:08 of the first to get the Devils on the scoreboard. Hughes scored with just 24 seconds left in the opening period, pouncing on a rebound in front of Hellebuyck.
UP NEXT
- Devils: Host Ottawa on Monday night to open a three-game homestand.
- Jets: Host Toronto on Sunday in the middle game of a three-game homestand.
