Mark Scheifele scores 3 and Jets beat Rangers
NEW YORK — Mark Scheifele scored three goals, Connor Hellebuyck made 38 saves and the Winnipeg Jets beat the New York Rangers 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Kyle Connor also scored for the Jets, who have won three straight and four of their last five. Winnipeg is 14-5-0 since Feb. 8 and 19-5-4 against the Eastern Conference this season.
"Any time you come into a game like this and the crowd gets into it, it has a more energetic feel,'' said Hellebuyck, who improved to 16-4-2 against the East this season and is 32-15-3 overall. "The guys in front of me were making it very easy for me."
The Jets won for the fourth time in their last six visits to Madison Square Garden.
Alexander Wennberg and Alexis Lafreniere scored for the first-place Rangers, who lost for the second time in seven games.
Scheifele opened the scoring at 4:04 of the second when his shot dribbled past Igor Shesterkin, who made 23 saves.
Wennberg tied the contest with his first goal as a Ranger on the power play at 9:30 of the second. Wennberg was acquired from Seattle on March 6. He has 10 goals this season.
Connor put Winnipeg ahead when he whipped the puck past Shesterkin at 12:18 of the second with Braden Schneider in the penalty box. The goal was Connor's 30th this season, the sixth time he has reached the milestone.
Scheifele scored his second goal of the night at 17:55 of the second, beating Shesterkin on a breakaway. Scheifele had 20 or more goals in nine-straight seasons, a franchise record.
"He's been doing it all. His stats speak for themselves,'' Hellebuyck said of Scheifele's play. "He's been very reliable ... You see a lot of success from doing the right thing."
Lafreniere made it 3-2 with 1:54 left in the third, scoring his 20th goal with Shesterkin pulled for an extra attacker. It marked a career high in goals for Lafreniere, the first overall pick by the Rangers in the 2020 draft. Lafreniere also assisted on Wennberg's goal.
Scheifele completed the eighth hat trick of career with an empty-net goal, his 22nd of the season.
"Obviously, that was fun,'' Scheifele said. "Any time you go up against one of the best, you want to see where you fit. Obviously a big win against a good team like the Rangers."
The 31-year-old forward, the seventh overall pick by Winnipeg in the 2011 draft, leads the Jets in scoring with 62 points. Scheifele has 13 goals in 18 career games against the Rangers.
New York was without defenseman Ryan Lindgren who suffered a lower-body injury in Sunday's home win over the Islanders. Chad Ruhwedel, another trade deadline acquisition, made his debut in Lindgren's place and was paired with Zac Jones. The Rangers continue to be without captain Jacob Trouba, who missed his seventh straight game with a lower-body injury.
The Rangers are 24-9-0 at home and lead the second-place Carolina Hurricanes by two points in the Metropolitan Division.
"I thought our guys were working,'' Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. "Just a tough game."
Jets coach Rick Bowness missed the game because of a medical procedure. Assistant coach Scott Arniel took his place behind the Jets bench.
"This is a tough building to play in. I'm really proud of the guys,'' said Arniel, a former assistant coach with the Rangers under Alain Vigneault. "We played a real solid game."
UP NEXT:
Rangers: Visit the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.
Jets: Visit New Jersey Devils on Thursday night to continue five-game road trip.