Scheifele Sets Franchise Mark as Jets Beat Predators 4-1

Mark Scheifele moved into first-place on the Winnipeg Jets' all-time points scoring leaderboard as the Jets took care of business at home against the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

Scheifele scored an early first period power play goal - Winnipeg's first of the 4-1 victory against its Central Division rival - Jonathan Toews picked up two helpers, while Connor Hellebuyck turned aside 30 of the 31 shots he faced in the Jets' fourth-straight win. 

Photo by Scott Stroh

Scheifele's sixth goal of the season was his 813th career point, which surpassed former linemate and captain Blake Wheeler for the most all-time within the Jets franchise. Just 2:39 into the opening frame, Scheifele hammered home a power play one-timer, bringing the crowd to its collective. Wheeler provided a video tribute to which fans also gave Scheifele a standing ovation.

The Jets added another tally on a Nino Niederreiter breakaway off a perfect stretch pass from Vlad Namestnikov. They ended the first period up 11-4 on the shot chart and held onto a 2-0 lead.

The middle stanza saw another strong outing from Winnipeg's penalty kill. Four chintzy penalties against the home team gave Nashville a hefty edge in shots, as the Predators put up 16 to Winnipeg's four. Connor Hellebuyck and the defenders stood tall, holding their 2-0 lead through 40 minutes. 

After throwing down with Michael McCarron in a second period tilt, Logan Stanley found his way onto the score sheet in the third period. He hammered home a heavy 94 MPH slap shot from the point, bulging the twine behind Saros, and putting the game out of reach for Nashville.

Toews earned his second assist of the game on a power play nifty feed to Namestnikov, who scored Winnipeg's second goal of the game on the man advantage, making it 4-0. 

Michael Bunting ruined Hellebuyck's bid for a shut-out as he put home a weird one off a broken stick play with just 1:04 remaining, which marked the 4-1 final.

Hellebuyck finished the night with 30 saves on the 31 Predators shots sent his way, while Saros made 20 saves on the 24 pucks delivered by Winnipeg. 

Next up for the Jets is a quick trip to Calgary, as Winnipeg will face the Flames on Monday before retuning home for back-to-back games against the Kraken and those same Flames on Thursday and Friday. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *