Scheifele nets hat trick in Jets win

Mark Scheifele scored three goals, Connor Hellebuyck made 38 saves and the Winnipeg Jets beat the New York Rangers 4-2 on Tuesday night.

Kyle Connor also scored for the Jets, who have won three straight and four of their last five. Winnipeg is 14-5-0 since Feb. 8 and 19-5-4 against the Eastern Conference this season.

“Any time you come into a game like this and the crowd gets into it, it has a more energetic feel,” said Hellebuyck, who improved to 16-4-2 against the East this season and is 32-15-3 overall. ”The guys in front of me were making it very easy for me.“

The Jets won for the fourth time in their last six visits to Madison Square Garden.

Alexander Wennberg and Alexis Lafreniere scored for the first-place Rangers, who lost for the second time in seven games.

Scheifele opened the scoring at 4:04 of the second when his shot dribbled past Igor Shesterkin, who made 23 saves.

Wennberg tied the contest with his first goal as a Ranger on the power play at 9:30 of the second. Wennberg was acquired from the Seattle Kraken on March 6. He has 10 goals this season.

Connor put Winnipeg ahead when he whipped the puck past Shesterkin at 12:18 of the second with Braden Schneider in the penalty box. The goal was Connor’s 30th this season, the sixth time he has reached the milestone.

Scheifele scored his second goal of the night at 17:55 of the second, beating Shesterkin on a breakaway. Scheifele has 20 or more goals in nine-straight seasons, a franchise record.

“He’s been doing it all. His stats speak for themselves,” Hellebuyck said of Scheifele’s play. ”He’s been very reliable. â ¦ You see a lot of success from doing the right thing.“

Lafreniere made it 3-2 with 1:54 left in the third, scoring his 20th goal with Shesterkin pulled for an extra attacker. It marked a career high in goals for Lafreniere, the first overall pick by the Rangers in the 2020 draft. Lafreniere also assisted on Wennberg’s goal.

Scheifele completed the eighth hat trick of career with an empty-net goal, his 22nd of the season.

“Obviously, that was fun,” Scheifele said. ”Any time you go up against one of the best, you want to see where you fit. Obviously a big win against a good team like the Rangers.“

The 31-year-old forward, the seventh overall pick by Winnipeg in the 2011 draft, leads the Jets in scoring with 62 points. Scheifele has 13 goals in 18 career games against the Rangers.