Scheifele's late OT goal gives Jets win against Coyotes

WINNIPEG -- Mark Scheifele scored his second goal with 9.7 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Winnipeg Jets a 2-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Canada Life Centre on Sunday.

Scheifele beat Karel Vejmelka blocker side on a breakaway after Lawson Crouse turned the puck over along the boards in the Jets zone.
"Vejmelka stood on his head all night, so [I] just tried to keep it simple," Scheifele said. "It's nice him being a right-handed goalie, usually that's glove side, so it's nice to feel having the blocker on that side, so I just tried to shoot it and hope it went in."
Connor Hellebuyck made 28 saves for the Jets (32-25-10), who have won four of five and are two points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
"Obviously, we want to make the playoffs, but we know we're not going to make the playoffs in one game," Scheifele said. "And all you can do is take each game in stride, play your best, leave it all on the ice and control what you can control. That's all we can do."

Nick Ritchie scored, and Vejmelka made 38 saves for the Coyotes (20-40-5), who have lost five in a row.
"I see what I see most nights, [Vejmelka] was really good," Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. "He gave us a chance to win. … The biggest thing was their deflection, and [Vejmelka] was really good in his positioning and making those stops. He was rock-solid, gave us a chance to win."
Said Winnipeg coach Dave Lowry, "I don't know what it is in Winnipeg, but [Vejmelka] has played outstanding here. We lost the first game that we faced him 1-0 and had 46 shots (Nov. 29), and he played outstanding. This was another game where he played outstanding. We're grateful we're not going to see him again."

Phil Kessel played in his 965th consecutive NHL game, passing Doug Jarvis for the second-longest streak in NHL history. Keith Yandle is first at 988.
Scheifele gave Winnipeg a 1-0 lead at 19:46 of the first period. He passed the puck to Paul Stastny, skated to the net, and was credited with the goal after Vejmelka knocked away Stastny's intended pass off him into the net.
"Mark continues to play a skilled game," Lowry said. "He makes very good decisions, and he's in the right place and he can finish plays."

Adam Lowry appeared to make it 2-0 at 11:33 of the second period, but Tourigny challenged the play for a missed game stoppage, and the call was reversed after a video review determined the puck hit the protective netting prior to the goal.
"That team needed to win badly, they needed those two points," Tourigny said. "You want to be a proud team, a proud organization who fights every game and makes it really tough on your opponent. We don't have the same opportunity as them in the sense that we know we won't be in the playoffs, but at the same time, we want to fight with the same urgency, the same determination, the same pride, and we did it tonight."
Ritchie tied it 1-1 at 6:17 of the third period, jamming in a loose puck in the crease.
"Tonight there was a lot of the game where we were back to that aggressive style, in your face, making it hard to play against," Ritchie said. "It was a close game there tonight, and we had a chance, for sure."
NOTES:Scheifele has scored nine points (three goals, six assists) during a five-game point streak. … Winnipeg forward Blake Wheeler had the primary assist on Scheifele's overtime goal and has scored seven points (one goal, six assists) during a five-game point streak. … Jets forward Kyle Connor had his NHL career-high 10-game point streak end. … Hellebuyck moved into a tie with Ondrej Pavelec (362) for the most starts in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history.