Scheifele, Hellebuyck lead Jets to 4-1 win over Rangers

By Allan Kreda, The Associated Press on February 20, 2023.

NEW YORK (AP) – Mark Scheifele scored twice and Connor Hellebuyck made 50 saves as the Winnipeg Jets beat the surging New York Rangers 4-1 on Monday night.

Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois also scored for the Jets, who are 6-3-0 in their past nine visits to Madison Square Garden. Connor, Josh Morrissey and Mason Appleton each had two assists for Winnipeg, which had lost two straight.

Hellebuyck, playing on back-to-back nights after a 4-2 loss at New Jersey on Sunday, stopped all 20 shots he faced in the first period and 30 more the rest of the way to improve to 26-16-1. He made two key stops on Rangers forward Chris Kreider in the third.

Vincent Trocheck scored for the Rangers, who lost in regulation for the first time since Jan. 19 when they fell 4-0 at home to Boston. New York was 8-0-2 in their previous 10 games. Igor Shesterkin finished with 17 saves.

Dubois opened the scoring on the power play at 5:12 of the first, deflecting a shot by Morrissey past Shesterkin for his 24th goal.

Scheifele made it 2-0 with 3:28 left in the opening period, poking the puck past Shesterkin.

The Rangers outshot the Jets 20-9 in the first period and finished with a 51-21 edge.

In the second, the Rangers failed to convert on two early power-play chances before the Jets increased the lead to 3-0 when Connor scored his 26th goal at 6:04.

Morrissey, who also had an assist on Connor’s goal, is second on the Jets with 58 points and third in scoring among NHL defencemen behind San Jose’s Erik Karlsson and Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin.

Trocheck ended Hellebuyck’s shutout bid at the 11-minute mark of the second with his 16th goal. Vladimir Tarasenko had the lone assist.

Scheifele scored his second goal of the game and team-leading 34th of the season with a backhand with 4:31 left in the third. Scheifele also scored twice in the previous game between the teams this season, a 4-1 Jets victory in Winnipeg on Oct. 14.

BACK AGAIN

Forward Tyler Motte – acquired by the Rangers from Ottawa on Sunday – played on line with Jake Leschyshyn and Barclay Goodrow in his return.

STATS

Despite the loss, the Rangers are still 22-5-4 since Dec. 5. “¦ The Rangers are 19-6-4 against the Western Conference and 9-4-1 versus Central Division teams. “¦ The Jets are 11-13-0 against Eastern Conference opponents. Winnipeg hasn’t posted a winning record against the East since 2018-19.

UP NEXT

Jets: At the New York Islanders to finish a four-game trip on Wednesday night.

Rangers: At Detroit on Thursday night to open a two-game trip.

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AP NHL: http://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Sports

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