Scheifele scores hat trick, sparks Jets to win against Rangers

NEW YORK -- Mark Scheifele scored a hat trick, and Connor Hellebuyck made 38 saves to help the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-2 win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

Sean Monahan had two assists for the Jets (44-19-5), who were without coach Rick Bowness. The 69-year-old returned to Winnipeg for a minor medical procedure and will be back once his condition improves. Associate Scott Arniel guided the Jets to their third consecutive victory that kept them tied with the Colorado Avalanche for first in the Central Division, two points ahead of the Dallas Stars.

"Anytime you come into a building like this one, and the crowd gets into it, it has a more energetic feel," Hellebuyck said. "That being said, it was just another game and that's what we’ve really got to focus on, is making sure we're playing the right way and our way and really forcing our will on teams."

Alexis Lafrenière had a goal and an assist, Alex Wennberg scored, and Igor Shesterkin made 23 saves for the Rangers (45-20-4), whose lead in the Metropolitan Division fell to two points over the Carolina Hurricanes. New York is without injured defensemen Ryan Lindgren and Jacob Trouba while in a stretch of 20 games in 38 days that started March 9.

"I think a lot of teams are playing a lot of hockey right now and we know that," Rangers defenseman Adam Fox said. "We dealt with these injuries all year. It hurts, but you still try to go out and do the right things."

Scheifele put the Jets ahead 1-0 at 4:04 of the second period after Nate Schmidt's shot deflected off two skaters and found the center in the right face-off circle. Scheifele poked the puck past Shesterkin to give him a ninth 20-goal season, and the ninth in a row, breaking the Winnipeg/Atlanta Thrashers records held by Ilya Kovalchuk.

"I think he's certainly underrated," Arniel said. "He's having such a great year on both ends of the rink and without the puck as well, and that's nine straight 20-goal years and also he's in elite company. We know what he's about and we know what he does for our hockey team."

Wennberg tied it 1-1 at 9:30 with New York on the power play, putting in the rebound of Lafreniere's shot for his first goal in seven games since being traded from the Seattle Kraken on March 6.

Kyle Connor answered with his 30th goal of the season to make it 2-1 on the power play at 12:18. He scored into an open net from a sharp angle after Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller blocked a shot in front.

"I thought the first and the third were good. The second was probably the worst period we played," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. "They generated a few more chances than us. It was kind of a low-event period, a little bit flat."

Scheifele scored his second goal of the game for a 3-1 lead at 17:55. He stole the puck from Chris Kreider inside the Jets zone, took off on a breakaway and found an opening under Shesterkin's blocker from the high slot.

"Anytime there's a breakaway, you have to find a little extra juice," Scheifele said. "I kind of knew Kreider was in a vulnerable spot and didn't know exactly where to go with it, so just took a shot at it.

"Just seeing what [Shesterkin's] giving you. You have some thoughts but you're at the mercy of what he's doing. If you want to do something and he's covering it, then you're not going to go there, so I just saw he was off his angle a little bit and I thought that was the shot."

Lafreniere cut Winnipeg's lead to 3-2 at 18:06 of the third period with Shesterkin pulled for the extra attacker.

Scheifele completed the hat trick by scoring into an empty net at 19:51 for the 4-2 final. The Jets have outscored the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Rangers 16-3 during their winning streak while going 4-for-7 on the man-advantage.

"Our power play has been working as of late," Scheifele said. "Tonight is a different game than the last two in terms of abilities. This team's a lot better. We could have had a few more, but it's just a matter of going in the right areas, being consistent for each other going to the right spots and good things happening to you."

NOTES: Arniel said Bowness might be back at the end of Winnipeg's five-game road trip, which has three games remaining and ends at the Washington Capitals on Sunday. The Jets are 10-2-2 under Arniel, who guided them from Oct. 23 to Nov. 22 when Bowness took a leave of absence after his wife, Judy, had a seizure Oct. 22. ... Scheifele scored his eighth hat trick to tie Patrik Laine for second in franchise history behind Kovalchuk (11). ... Connor has six 30-goal seasons, one behind Kovalchuk for the most in franchise history. ... Lafreniere's 20 goals in 69 games are an NHL career high; he scored 19 in 79 games in 2021-22. ... Chad Ruhwedel played 13:31 in his Rangers debut. The defenseman was traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 8. ... Wennberg played his 700th NHL game.