Scheifele scores in Jets’ fourth straight overtime game to complete 3-2 late comeback win over Blackhawks

The Jets jumped out to a super early lead again on Sunday afternoon before losing 2-1 in overtime on the road in San Jose to the Sharks. Both goalies played great, but it was the Sharks who handed the Jets their second straight overtime loss. Tonight the Jets played their first of eight straight home games at the Canada Life Center over the next two weeks. We’re now just under three days before the NHL trade deadline, and Jets fans continue to wonder what the team will do on and before deadline day. The 23-26-10 Jets took on the 23-28-9 Blackhawks, a team that has struggled as of late, going just 2-6-2 in their last 10 games.

There were no changes to the Jets line combinations tonight as they traveled home from San Jose with the same lineup. Walker Duehr stayed on the 3rd line with Jonathan Toews and Gustav Nyquist. Tanner Pearson remained on the 4th line with Cole Koepke and Morgan Barron. Logan Stanley is still at the top with Dylan DeMelo, while Morrissey is closing in on his return, and Haydn Fleury and Luke Schenn remained as the third pairing.

Connor Hellebuyck got another start in goal, as Hellebuyck made his third start since returning to the Olympics. The Jets lineup continues to struggle with several injuries, including Nino Niederreiter, who was recently ruled out for the remainder of the season. Hellebuyck came into tonight’s game with a 13-16-9 record, a 2.82 GAA and a .900 SV%. Tonight’s game started well again for the Jets, but it took a late equalizer and an OT winner in the 4th straight Jets game with OT for the Jets to take the two points at home.

1st Period

Tonight’s game started with an early Jets goal for the third straight game. Kyle Connor worked the puck into the Blackhawks zone and dropped the puck back to Mark Scheifele. Dylan Samberg cut toward the goal and Scheifele found him near the faceoff point. Samberg fired a wrist shot that went past Spencer Knight for his first goal of the season.

Less than a minute before this goal, both teams took a penalty just 13 seconds apart, resulting in a four-on-four goal. The next part of the first period was fairly uneventful and after 10 minutes the shots on goal were just 4-2 for the Jets.

The teams played cautiously for part of the first game and with just over two minutes to go, Gabriel Vilardi was awarded an inadvertent-looking double minor penalty for high-sticking. Shots on goal were still only 6-3 for the Jets, so this late chance for the Blackhawks was a chance for them to get their offense going. Less than a minute into double minor, Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar put Teuvo Teravainen in the slot for a wrist shot that went up and past Hellebuyck to tie this game late in the first.

Because the Blackhawks already scored within the first two minutes of the double minor, the ‘second’ power play started after this goal. The Jets reset and prevented the Blackhawks from taking the lead before the first period was over. Shots on goal after 20 minutes were just 6-4 for the Jets, but the tempo of the game continued to increase as the match progressed.

2nd Period

The second period picked up where the first left off in terms of pace, and the Jets killed off the rest of the double minor. Both teams were still unable to get many shots on goal, and at the midway point of the match the Blackhawks had a slight 11-8 advantage in shots on goal.

Both teams continued to battle for the go-ahead goal, but Spencer Knight and Connor Hellebuyck were sharp throughout the 40 minutes despite making limited saves. No penalties were taken by either team in the second and shots on goal were now 14-13 for the Blackhawks. The rest of the game’s stats were also pretty similar at this point, and it looked like another situation where the Jets faced an “anybody’s game” in the final 20 minutes of the third period.

3rd Period

The third period didn’t start exactly the way the Jets would have liked. Sam Rinzel put the puck behind the net and Connor Bedard collected the puck along the boards. Bedard found Ryan Greene driving behind him, and he fired a vicious wrister that went past Hellebuyck for his eighth goal of the season.

About two minutes later, Connor Bedard was called for assaulting Dylan Samberg. The Jets tried to tie the game on this power play, but were unable to get past Spencer Knight. With ten minutes to go, the Jets’ urgency increased and that resulted in several more scoring opportunities.

With time running out, it looked like the Jets were on the verge of losing their third straight game by one goal, this time without earning a point. If the Jets wanted to go into overtime for the fourth straight time, they needed a strong final push once they were 6-on-5. The Jets got the next series of shots on goal, and shortly after they sent Hellebuyck to the bench with just under 2 minutes left.

Spencer Knight made some nice saves and the Jets took their timeout with 46 seconds left. After a faceoff won by the Jets, Logan checked Stanley and found Mark Scheifele. Cole Perfetti was heading for the slot and Scheifele found Perfetti, who turned and fired a wrist shot that fooled Knight to tie this match at two with 39 seconds left.

The Jets were headed to overtime for their fourth straight game after a fantastic late-game effort as the Jets outscored the Blackhawks 17-6 in the third. The last shots on goal for 60 minutes were 30-20 Jets, and now the home fans were ready for some 3 on 3 hockey.

Overtime

After consecutive overtime losses, the Jets won this time. The Jets had their only two shots on goal in overtime, and with three minutes left, Mark Scheifele sent the fans home happy at the Canada Life Centre. Dylan Samberg turned after intercepting a pass and found Scheifele just coming up the ice in the zone. Scheifele fired a wrister that went over Knight’s glove to give the Jets a 3-2 victory in overtime.

The Jets fought hard to get to overtime this game, and they were rewarded with their strong late play with the two points. This was the fourth straight game for the Jets needing 5 minutes of 3-on-3, so they’ve been practicing a lot lately. It was a great team win for the Jets, who started this long homestand with a well-deserved positive result.

Next

The Jets will now be reset for a day before continuing their eight-game homestand (March 3-17) on Thursday evening. Their regular season schedule continues at the Canada Life Center with a matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Puck drop for this match will again take place just after 7:00 PM CST. Stay tuned here to Jets Nation for all the latest Jets news (including the upcoming trade deadline on Friday), plus previews and recaps of every Jets game this season.

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