Scheifele, Hellebuyck lift Jets to 3-1 series lead

Mark Scheifele scored both goals and Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves for his seventh shutout this season as the Jets beat the Wild 2-0 on Tuesday night in St. Paul, Minn., to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference firstround playoff series.

Scheifele scored with 28 seconds left in the first period and tacked on an empty-netter with 11 seconds remaining, pushing the Wild to the brink of elimination.

Devan Dubnyk stopped 26 shots for the Wild, who played without star left wing Zach Parise because of a broken sternum suffered in Game 3. After a six-goal outburst in their last appearance, the Wild had trouble generating the same kind of relentless attack and simply couldn’t slide any pucks past Hellebuyck.

Now the series shifts back to Winnipeg, with Game 5 on Friday night.

After a tightly whistled game Sunday night in St. Paul, there were only three penalties called. The Jets closed up the holes they gave the Wild through the neutral zone in Game 3. Hellebuyck, who was named earlier in the day one of the NHL’s three finalists for the Vezina Trophy that’s awarded annually to the best goalie in the league, bounced back in a big way from the previous game when he gave up six goals and was pulled after two periods.

Scheifele was part of the sandwich hit with Ben Chiarot late in the third period of Game 3 on Parise that led to the injury for the Wild’s alltime postseason scoring leader, a stunning setback for the home team revealed about four hours before Game 4.

Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher said Parise’s status is “week to week.”

Flyers center Sean Couturier limped off the ice during practice Tuesday with an apparent leg injury after colliding with teammate Radko Gudas, who was moving backward and didn’t see Couturier.

Flyers GM Ron Hextall said Couturier’s status will be updated Wednesday before Game 4 of their Eastern Conference firstround series against the Penguins.

The Flyers trail the two-time defending champion Penguins 2-1.