Scheifele scores twice, Wheeler nets 300th goal in Jets win over Kraken

All wins in the standings might be worth two points, but sometimes, they feel like more than that in the room.
Sunday's 3-2 overtime win over the Seattle Kraken is one of those victories that might mean more to the Winnipeg Jets (9-4-1).
Playing on the back half of a back-to-back, with 5 pm Pacific Time puck drop in Seattle after an 8 pm Mountain Time start in Calgary the night before, the Jets battled back twice in regulation before snatching victory at Climate Pledge Arena.
"That's why it's 60 minutes," said overtime hero Mark Scheifele, who also had a goal in regulation time, giving him 10 goals on the season.
"That's what good teams do," Scheifele said. "We played hard, gave it our all, left it all on the ice, and it was a big win for us."

It was also a big night for Blake Wheeler, who was arguably just as much of a hero as Scheifele on this night.
His game-tying goal with less than six seconds left not only pulled the Jets even, but gave Wheeler 300 career goals, and 750 points with the franchise.
"I thought our team played well and it would have been a shame to leave here without getting anything," said Wheeler. "So to push it to overtime was a good accomplishment for us."

The Kraken, who had won five of their last six heading into the game, got off to a quick start against a Jets team that Scheifele said struggled to find their legs most of the night.
Jordan Eberle gave Seattle a 1-0 lead 7:30 into the first, and in the process became the first player to score on the Jets penalty kill unit since October 27. Until Eberle banged home the rebound on a five-on-three penalty kill for his fourth of the season, the Jets had killed off 16 straight opposition power plays.
Winnipeg responded with a power play goal of their own in the second. After getting a clean entry into the Seattle zone, the Jets worked the puck to Kyle Connor near the right circle. He set up Gagner in the slot, and while that shot went wide, Scheifele was there on the other side to bang it past Martin Jones.
The Jets finished 2-for-7 on the power play, one night after going 0-for-3 in Calgary.
"The key is just not lose confidence in the power play," said Wheeler. "It's such an important part of the game today, special teams, and if you have a tough night, the real blessing is that under 24 hours that way you get a chance to redeem yourself."
The tie game lasted until the third, when Brandon Tanev's fourth of the season put Seattle back in front with 12:58 left in regulation, and the Jets would need almost all of it to find the equalizer.

With David Rittich out of the net for an extra skater, the Jets were trying to tie the game when Carson Soucy punched Pierre-Luc Dubois in the back of the head, earning him a trip to the box with 28 seconds left in regulation.
"The guy gave him a pretty good cross check and he kept his cool," said Jets head coach Rick Bowness of Dubois. "That's just as important. If you want to get under their skin, that's one thing. But you have to have that discipline not to retaliate and he didn't and that's huge."
The Jets made the Kraken pay, as Wheeler pounced on a loose puck off the shoulder of Jones, backhanding it into the yawning cage to hit the milestone, and tie the game.
"That's a huge, huge accomplishment," Bowness said. "If you score 300 goals in this league, that's a testament to his character and his longevity. I'm very, very happy for him."
Overtime took all of one shift.
Scheifele forced a turnover in the defensive zone just past the 30 second mark of overtime, giving him and Josh Morrissey a chance to jump up on a 2-on-1.

They made no mistake, with Morrissey feeding Scheifele a perfect pass from the left to the right side.
Game over.
"I was pretty exhausted. I don't know if I had my legs for most of the night tonight," Scheifele grinned. "What a fantastic pass from J-Mo. I don't know what he was doing with his little celebration after it, but it was an amazing pass by him, and I was lucky to be there."
The victory gives the Jets a hard-earned split on the road, and some momentum heading into a three-game home stand that begins on Thursday.
"We keep preaching to the guys that good teams find a way to win, regardless of the circumstances and we'll never let them make excuses," said Bowness. "It's easier said than done. But when you get into the room at 1:30, 2 o'clock, and you have to play at 5 o'clock, give the guys a lot of credit for that."
ICE CHIPS
Mason Appleton left the game in the second period after his stick got lodged in the glass as he was getting hit. The stick seemed to clothesline Appleton in the mid-section, but Bowness said after the game there was no update just yet.
Appleton will be re-evaluated on Monday.