DALLAS — Winnipeg Jets heart Mark Scheifele scored a aim in his membership’s must-win Recreation 6 of the second-round playoff sequence at Dallas on Saturday evening, hours after the sudden dying of his father.
However he additionally had the penalty that arrange the Stars’ power-play aim in additional time for a 2-1 win that knocked the top-ranked Jets out of the playoffs.
Jets captain Adam Lowry went and obtained Scheifele out of the field when the sport ended.
“We’re a household. Simply to let him know that we’re there for him. It is simply an terrible day for him,” Lowry stated. “You need to give him the power, you need to get that kill so dangerous. We simply could not do it.”
In the course of the handshake line afterward, Scheifele hugged and talked to only about everybody, with Stars gamers clearly providing their help to him in a heartwarming second.
Scheifele scored his fifth aim of the playoffs 5½ minutes into the second interval to offer the Jets a 1-0 lead. He scored on a brief snap shot from simply outdoors the crease after gathering the rebound of a shot by Kyle Connor.
“I simply I do know we have now a terrific group right here. I knew, getting into, as soon as we discovered the information that he’ll have a terrific help group and we will be there for him by the highs and the lows and clearly right this moment was an actual low,” defenseman Neal Pionk stated of Scheifele. “[We] did every little thing we might to offer him some phrases of encouragement, [and] for him to play tonight, and play the best way he did, is flat out some of the brave issues we have ever seen.”
The sport was tied at 1 when Sam Metal, who had already scored for Dallas, was on a break. Scheifele lunged ahead desperately making an attempt to make a play when he tripped up the ahead on the blue line with 14.8 seconds in regulation. Scheifele and the Jets prevented a penalty shot on the play, however ended up shedding on the facility play when Thomas Harley scored 1:33 into additional time.
Jets coach Scott Arniel stated the information of Brad Scheifele’s passing in a single day was tough for the whole crew. The crew was informed earlier than the optionally available morning skate.
“On behalf of the Winnipeg Jets household, our condolences to Mark and his household. It rocked us all this morning after we discovered,” Arniel stated earlier than the sport. “Mark can be enjoying tonight. As he stated, that’d be the desires of his dad. He would have wished him to play.”
Scheifele was the final Jets participant to depart the ice following pregame warmups, and through at the least a part of the singing of “O Canada,” he had his head bowed and his eyes closed. He took the opening faceoff towards Roope Hintz.
“The factor about Mr. Scheifele is he is a part of our household. He is a part of the Jets household. He goes again to 2011 when Mark was first drafted right here,” Arniel stated. “We now have numerous gamers that got here in across the time which can be nonetheless right here that he is been an enormous a part of their life, together with their household. So it is actually, clearly devastating for Mark, but additionally for lots of fellows on this crew.”
Winnipeg normal supervisor Kevin Cheveldayoff stated the group was doing every little thing it might to help Scheifele. There was no quick phrase on the reason for Brad Scheifele’s dying.
The 32-year-old Mark Scheifele completed with 11 factors (5 objectives, six assists) whereas enjoying in 11 of the Jets’ 13 video games this postseason. He missed Video games 6 and seven of the first-round sequence towards St. Louis with an undisclosed harm after taking a pair of massive hits early in Recreation 5 of that sequence.
In Recreation 5 towards the Stars on Thursday evening, a 4-0 win by Winnipeg that prolonged the sequence, Scheifele was sucker-punched by Stars captain Jamie Benn throughout a late scrum. Benn obtained a recreation misconduct penalty and was fined by the NHL the maximum-allowed $5,000 however prevented a suspension.
Scheifele had 87 factors (39 objectives and 48 assists) within the 82 regular-season video games.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
