Connor, Scheifele help Jets top Panthers in Maurice's return to Winnipeg

WINNIPEG --Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele each scored twice for the Winnipeg Jets in a 5-2 win against the Florida Panthers at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday.

It was Panthers coach Paul Maurice's first game back in Winnipeg since he resigned as Jets coach on Dec. 17, 2021. Maurice was 315-223-62 in 600 games over nine seasons. He and former Winnipeg assistant Jamie Kompon, now an assistant with Florida, received a standing ovation during a video tribute in the first period.
"It's a special place, isn't it, for Jamie and I?" Maurice said. "We really appreciate it. It was good on the bench, and it was good in the stands. That was very classy, as they always are here. … It's a great building. They've got a great fan base here and they appreciate the game."
Pierre-Luc Dubois had three assists for the Jets (16-7-1), who have won five of their past six games. Connor Hellebuyck made 39 saves, including 25 in the second period, in his 400th NHL game.
"He meant a lot to a lot of our careers, a big influence on a lot of our careers," Connor said of Maurice. "And the city of Winnipeg, he was always out talking to everybody in the community. I'm sure everybody appreciated his time as well."

Carter Verhaeghe and Zac Dalpe scored for the Panthers (12-10-4), who have lost seven of 10 (3-4-3). Sergei Bobrovsky made 14 saves in relief of Spencer Knight, who allowed three goals on 15 shots before being pulled early in the second.
"Winnipeg comes in waves," Dalpe said. "Just trying to match that and ultimately beat it. It's a tough rink to play in to begin with, so they came hard for sure."
Winnipeg and Florida combined for three goals in 1:08 during the first period. Scheifele gave the Jets a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 13:20 before Verhaeghe tied it 1-1 at 14:11.
Connor restored Winnipeg's lead 17 seconds later with a shot from the left face-off circle that beat Knight low stick side to make it 2-1.
Connor, who also had an assist, extended it to 3-1 at 1:43 of the second with another low wrist shot.
Bobrovsky relieved Knight after Connor's second goal.
"Spencer's had a good run," Maurice said. "It wasn't happening for him tonight. He's been good for us. Sergei needed a good feeling in our net. I thought he came in and was real good. Solid."

Scheifele one-timed a centering feed from Connor in the slot for a power-play goal at 13:23 to make it 4-1.
The Panthers outshot the Jets 25-8 in the second but did not score.
"[Hellebuyck] is a big man (6-foot-4, 207 pounds), covers awful lot of net, and even the ones that get away from him, he's so strong in that crease," Maurice said. "He'll make a whole bunch of saves just by his size alone. He's a good one."
Dalpe scored in his first NHL game of the season at 9:02 of the third period to cut it to 4-2. The 33-year-old forward was recalled from Charlotte of the American Hockey League on Monday.
"It feels good to score in this league," Dalpe said. "We obviously didn't get the result we wanted for [Maurice], but there were a lot of good things for sure."
Adam Lowry shot into an empty net at 16:59 for the 5-2 final.
"We're a different team this year than we were last year," Scheifele said. "You see the rejuvenated faces in this room. [Jets coach Rick Bowness] has been on us each and every day, whether it's a good game or a bad game, he's always looking to help us. … We're being pushed and we're being challenged to reach our full potential. That does a lot for our team."
NOTES: Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk had an assist on Verhaeghe's goal, extending his point streak to three games (two goals, four assists). … Dubois has a six-game point streak (three goals, six assists). … Connor has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past seven games. … Hellebuyck has won each of his past five starts and is second in the NHL with 13 wins (13-5-1). … It was Scheifele's 150th multipoint game. … Jets forwards Blake Wheeler and Cole Perfetti had their five-game point streaks end.