Scheifele, Jets pull away to defeat Coyotes

WINNIPEG -- Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists for the Winnipeg Jets in a 5-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes at Canada Life Centre on Saturday.

It was the third time Scheifele has had at least three points in his past six games. He has two goals and 10 assists over that stretch.

“You’re just as good as your next game,” Scheifele said. “There is always growth in the game; there is never any complacency, and you just need to continue wanting to work. That’s my thought. I like my game, and I just want to keep growing it.”

Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey each had a goal and an assist for the Jets (10-5-2), who have won six of their past seven games. Laurent Brossoit made 16 saves.

“Tonight there were some areas, especially in the first, where we were a little bit sloppy,” Winnipeg associate coach Scott Arniel said. “But you know what? We found a way. In this league, every team is tough to beat, and everybody has their different things that they throw at you. Our group right now is confident and we're doing a lot of really good things and we're a hard team to play against."

Matias Maccelli and Matt Dumba scored for the Coyotes (8-7-2), who have lost two of three (1-1-1). Karel Vejmelka made 21 saves.

Maccelli gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead at 14:53 of the first period off a feed from J.J. Moser near the far post.

Winnipeg then scored twice in 58 seconds to take a 2-1 lead. Scheifele’s backhand in the slot tied it 1-1 at 17:04, and Vladislav Namestnikov put the Jets in front at 18:02 when he banked the puck off Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse and in from behind the net.

“I think it was intentional,” Scheifele said of Namestnikov’s bank shot. “I don’t think he was trying to pass it, he was trying to maybe even bank it off Vejmelka. But you’ve got to be good to be lucky, and it was a good forecheck and you get rewarded when those things happen.”

Dumba tied it 2-2 at 6:08 of the second period on a redirection of Travis Boyd’s centering pass.

Connor gave Winnipeg a 3-2 lead at 11:26 with a wrist shot from the left face-off dot. It was his 14th goal of the season.

“We knew they were going to have a push in the third period,” Connor said. “Josh [Morrissey] scored a big one for us which gave us a little bit more of a cushion.

“I'm just trying to be as lethal as I can, I guess, in the offensive zone, trying to have that attack mindset. … Being a little bit more versatile as well and just trying to score in as many different ways that I can. I think we’re playing well offensively as a unit as well. Our [defensemen] are really getting involved once we hem them in the [offensive] zone, and if you look at our last couple goals, too, off the rush we do a really good job of transitioning.”

Morrissey made it 4-2 on a 2-on-1 with Scheifele at 4:15 of the third period.

Mason Appleton scored an empty-net goal at 17:30 for the 5-2 final.

NOTES: It was Winnipeg’s eighth straight win against Arizona, matching the second-longest streak against a single opponent in franchise history (8-0-0 against the Dallas Stars from Oct. 27, 2016-March 18, 2018). The Jets won 10 in a row against the Vancouver Canucks from Dec. 22, 2016-Jan. 14, 2020. … It was Connor’s fifth-game winning goal of the season, which leads the NHL. He had eight game-winners in 2022-23. … Winnipeg allowed three shots on goal in the final 33:52 of the game. Dumba's goal was the last shot the Coyotes had in the second period, and they were held to three in the third. … Arizona forward Clayton Keller had a five-game point streak end (three goals, five assists).