BILLECK: Scheifele showed leadership, grit in unstoppable showing vs. Canucks – Winnipeg Sun

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Mark Scheifele had that dawg in him on Saturday night in Vancouver.

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Never mind the four-point night, where the Winnipeg Jets forward had his hand in every single goal, scoring one of them and helping on three others in Winnipeg’s 4-2 win over the Canucks.

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It was Gabriel Vilardi’s go-ahead goal, the eventual game-winner, where Scheifele shined brightest.

Scheifele had already absorbed a big hit earlier in the period, and he was about to take another shot again after a quick drop pass to Kyle Connor.

Canucks defenceman Noah Juulsen drilled Scheifele, but in turn, gave up a 2-on-1 to Connor and Gabriel Vilardi, the latter who tucked in his second of the game from Connor’s cross-ice feed to make it 3-2 to that point.

“I knew he was going to be stepping up,” Scheifele told reporters at Rogers Arena post-game. “Their D were doing that all night.”

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Indeed, it was a fast and physical game, but Scheifele was up to the task.

The play he made will only show up on the scoresheet as a second assist, but without taking the punishment he did on the hit, the Jets wouldn’t have had the great chance that turned into the game-winning goal.

“It was fun… that’s what you want,” Scheifele said. “You got two Canadian teams going at it that’s what everyone wants to see and it was an absolute blast.”

The Jets needed that game. They needed that win.

Sure, they had put some distance between their five-game losing streak with two consecutive wins coming in, but neither was convincing.

They eked out a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins to stop the slide a week ago and scored just a single goal in a 1-0 win over the San Jose Sharks back in Winnipeg on Wednesday night.

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But they came into Saturday’s test against the league-leading Canucks with just seven goals scored in as many games, and just 13 in their previous 11.

On top of that, they had gone eight straight scoring two or fewer.

So putting up a four-spot against Vezina contender Thatcher Demko and a Canucks team the Jets could very well see come the Western Conference was the boost (scoring, and otherwise) they needed.

The power play struck twice, ending an eight-game drought with their first goal in 23 attempts when Vilardi, from Scheifele, ended a six-game pointless streak in the second period.

Sean Monahan’s first goal in Jets threads also came at 5-on-4, scoring on a pretty tic-tac-toe from Vilardi and Scheifele just a few minutes after Vilardi’s goal.

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And the Jets looked comfortable after Tyler Myers made it 2-2 heading into the second intermission.

“You feel the confidence,” Monahan, who arrived two weeks ago via trade from Montreal, said. “There’s quite a bit of experience in the locker room and a veteran coach. You’ve got to stick with it. Play within your structure and play to your full potential.”

Their penalty kill went 4-for-4, Connor Hellebuyck made 35 saves, including 12 alone on the kill, and the team was physical.

Adam Lowry destroyed Nils Aman with a crunching hit nearing the midway point of the second period, and it turned the tide in the game.

Phillip Di Giuseppe stepped in to fight Lowry — with the latter winning handily — and took the instigator along with a 10-minute misconduct to go with the fighting major.

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Monahan scored shortly thereafter.

Anyone would want to see seven games of that. It already had a playoff feel.

There are two more meetings between these teams before the playoffs begin in April, and a trade deadline sandwiched in there. Both teams have already made moves.

Maybe the arms race in the West will heat up even further.

• Speaking of that, one thought I had during the game, as physical as it was, and how well the Jets handled that, was if they may think of adding a bit more beef ahead of the March 8 trade deadline. Lowry’s hit really changed the direction of that game. 

• Hellebuyck was on it from the get-go, making two big stops on Pius Suter, who slipped behind Winnipeg’s defence and met with Brock Boeser’s centring pass. The 2020 Vezina winner was brilliant on the night, making his latest claim for this season’s top goalie award, and for the starting job with Team USA at next year’s four nations tournament. 

• Hellebuyck has now gone 31 straight games without allowing more than three goals. That’s a ridiculous stat line that’s going to be a problem come playoff time.

• Morgan Barron didn’t play the third period and was limited to just three shifts in the second after falling ill. Sounds like a bug is going through the Jets room once again. Logan Stanley took the pre-game warmup but didn’t play. Jets head coach Rick Bowness told reporters that another d-man wasn’t feeling right, but still played. 

sbilleck@postmedia.com

X: @scottbilleck

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