Scheifele, with a goal and two assists, leads Winnipeg Jets over Arizona Coyotes 5-2
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 5-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night.
“I’m just going to continue to work on my game,” said Scheifele, who has 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in his last six games. “I feel good, a lot of good thoughts on my mind of what to work on in practice. You just have to keep it going.
“There is always growth in the game. There is never any complacency, and you just need to continue wanting to work. That’s my thought. I like my game, and I just want to keep growing it.”
Kyle Connor, with his league-leading 14th goal, Josh Morrissey, Vladislav Namestnikov and Mason Appleton also scored for Winnipeg (10-5-2), which has won three in a row and six of its last seven. Laurent Brossoit made 16 saves.
With the win, the Jets concluded their five-game homestand with a 4-1-0 record.
“In this league, every team is tough to beat and everybody has their different things that they like to throw at you,” said Jets coach Scott Arniel. “Our group, right now, is confident and we’re doing a lot of really good things, and we’re a hard team to play against.”
Matt Dumba and Matias Maccelli scored goals for Arizona (8-7-2) and Karel Vejmelka stopped 21 of 25 shots.
“I’m really happy about our effort,” Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. “I’m really happy about our mindset defensively, our mindset away from the puck. That was really good.
“The only part of the game that I did not like was the way that we played in the offensive zone when we have possession of the puck. I liked our forecheck but, when we are in possession, I did not like that fact that we were trying for an extra play."
Morrissey gave Winnipeg a 4-2 lead 4:15 into the third period, converting a pass from Scheifele on a 2-on-1.
Appleton sealed it with an empty-netter with 2:30 remaining.
Connor scored 11:26 into the middle frame, taking a quick pass from Scheifele and scoring over Vejmelka’s right shoulder to put the Jets ahead 3-2.
“I’m just trying to be as lethal as I can, I guess, in the offensive zone,” Connor said. “Being a little more versatile as well and just try to score in as many different ways that I can.”
Dumba knotted the score at 2-2 after deflecting a perfect pass from Travis Boyd past Brossoit at 6:08 of the second period.
The Jets rebounded from a 1-0 deficit with a pair of goals just 58 seconds apart in the opening frame.
Scheifele scored on a backhanded shot at the 17:04 mark to tie things up.
Namestnikov followed by beating Vejmelka to the puck behind the goal, then banking a shot into the vacated net off Arizona’s Lawson Crouse, who was in front.
Maccelli opened the scoring, converting a pass from J.J. Moser, who found Maccelli alone at the side of an empty net.
Morrissey’s first-period assist was the 200th of his NHL career, which makes him the third defenseman in franchise history to reach that milestone.
UP NEXT
Coyotes: Host Los Angeles on Monday.
Jets: Kick off a three-game road trip at Tampa Bay on Wednesday.
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