\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"Fred](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4119316_web1_CP176102540.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
Fred Greenslade \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets\u2019 Gabriel Vilardi looks to tip a shot by Josh Morrissey past Seattle Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer in the first period.<\/p>\n
Some of that credit belongs to Jets assistant coach Davis Payne, who is responsible for a power play that led the NHL last season but had dipped to 28th overall among 32 teams after going five-for-48 since the Olympic break.<\/p>\n
A tweak in personnel \u2014 with Jonathan Toews in for Cole Perfetti on the top unit \u2014 led to immediate dividends as the Jets power play finished the night with three goals for the first time this season, propelling them to a 6-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Monday night at Canada Life Centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked about how it gave us an opportunity with him taking the faceoffs,\u201d said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. \u201cAnd then we went with more of a shot mentality, attacking the net a little bit more and a little bit quicker. I thought we did a great job of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fresh off the bump, Toews got to the net and found a loose puck after Gabriel Vilardi tipped a point shot from Josh Morrissey to open the scoring.<\/p>\n
Toews then drew the primary assist with the man-advantage as Vilardi scored his 29th goal of the season to make it 2-1 at 9:55 of the second period.<\/p>\n
It was Toews\u2019 fifth power-play marker of the season as he hit double digits in goals for a 16th consecutive campaign.<\/p>\n
Kyle Connor ensured the Jets power play stayed perfect by scoring on a shot that changed direction off a Kraken defender and made the game 3-1.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got a little lucky, but there are other games where we\u2019ve had a lot of good looks and haven\u2019t gotten a goal,\u201d said Jets centre Mark Schefiele, who notched three assists. \u201cSo we just got rewarded for sticking with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Jets, who improved to 34-31-12, remain three points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They\u2019re back in action Thursday against the surging St. Louis Blues.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s take a closer look at what transpired on Monday:<\/p>\n
THE MILESTONE<\/p>\n
Scheifele is up to 97 points for the season, eclipsing 900 points for his NHL career (901).<\/p>\n
Already the franchise leader, Scheifele has pulled within 28 points of Dale Hawerchuk, who is the only Jets player from the 1.0 era to reach 900 points.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot. I\u2019m obviously very honoured and humbled by it,\u201d said Scheifele. \u201cIt\u2019ll probably take a little bit to sink in. But it\u2019s very cool in my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Fred Greenslade \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets\u2019 Kyle Connor celebrates his goal against the Seattle Kraken with Mark Scheifele during the second period of the Jets 6-2 win in Winnipeg, Monday.<\/p>\n With his three-point night, Scheifele moved into a tie for fifth place in NHL scoring with Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers and David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins.<\/p>\n Arniel continues to be impressed by Scheifele\u2019s ability to put together his best season after turning 33 last month.<\/p>\n \u201cIt goes back to what we were just talking about: all of that preparation that he does,\u201d said Arniel. \u201cHis body is always ready to go. It\u2019s a case of he\u2019s determined, he\u2019s driven and he wants to have team success. With the team success comes individual success.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ve seen a lot of guys in the league that are older that are still really good players and that\u2019s because they\u2019re such good athletes now. That\u2019s probably the biggest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n THE ROCKET<\/p>\n Jets forward Brad Lambert took a drop pass from Adam Lowry, used his speed to drive out wide and after looking to pass, he loaded up and ripped home a wrister that beat Joey Daccord high to the blocker side.<\/p>\n It was Lambert\u2019s third NHL goal of the season.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if I have ever scored with him live,\u201d said Lambert, referring to Kraken head coach and his uncle, Lane Lambert. \u201cEvery goal feels great and obviously, being able to do it at that time, (being) a big goal for us, made it extra special.<\/p>\n \u201cI slowed up a little bit and looked to see if I had anyone to pass it to, but at the end of the day, I feel I was in the best spot to let it rip.\u201d<\/p>\n Lambert\u2019s goal restored a two-goal cushion after Jared McCann trimmed the deficit to 3-2 early in the third period.<\/p>\n \u201cThey had just scored and he made a nice little move kind of backing off the D and just kind of a sneaky release,\u201d said Scheifele. \u201cHe\u2019s a creative guy. He\u2019s got skill. He\u2019s got speed. He\u2019s got great hands. You love to see a guy try someone one-on-one. With every game, you\u2019ve just got to keep getting more and more confident, keep getting more and more comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n THE RETURN(S)<\/p>\n Lambert was on the ice on a blended shift for his goal, but spent the bulk of the evening on a trio with Vladislav Namestnikov and Nino Niederreiter, both of whom were back in the lineup for the first time in a long time.<\/p>\n Niederreiter (knee) hadn\u2019t suited up in an NHL game since before the Olympics in Italy, while Namestnikov suffered a lower-body injury in the first period of the second game coming out of the break.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Fred Greenslade \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets\u2019 Brad Lambert celebrates his goal against the Seattle Kraken during the third period.<\/p>\n Namestnikov took 17 shifts for just over 11 minutes of ice time and chipped in an empty net goal late in the third period, while Niederreiter helped draw a pair of penalties and finished with 11:20 of ice time.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was special. A lot of extremes there and a lot of help,\u201d said Lambert of his linemates. \u201cI think we play well together, those guys are really good and smart with the puck and good players who make great plays. They hang on to pucks in the offensive zone and that creates a little more room for me and they are awesome to play with.\u201d<\/p>\n THE KEY PLAY<\/p>\n Connor\u2019s first of two goals, which gave him a team-leading 38 for the season, proved to be the game-winner.<\/p>\n THE THREE STARS<\/p>\n Mark Scheifele, C, Jets: three helpers. EXTRA! EXTRA!<\/p>\n Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck made his seventh consecutive start, reaching 54 for the season and finished with 22 saves as he registered his 21st win of the campaign. Hellebuyck lowered his goals-against average to 2.76, while his save percentage remains at .898.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t With the return of Niederreiter and Namestnikov, forward Parker Ford was returned to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League since the Jets are no longer under emergency conditions. Ford has one assist in 15 games with the Jets this season and is up to one goal and two points in 18 games for his NHL career.<\/p>\n Jets defenceman Jacob Bryson suited up in his 300th NHL game on Monday.<\/p>\n Following the morning skate, Arniel announced that forward Morgan Barron is sidelined week-to-week with a lower-body injury. The loss of Barron is going to be felt in a number of areas, from his sound five-on-five play to his work on the penalty kill. Barron has 11 goals and 23 points in 65 games this season.<\/p>\n The Jets lone healthy scratch was defenceman Ville Heinola, since forward Gustav Nyquist (undisclosed) was wearing a non-contact jersey, along with defenceman Colin Miller (knee). Fellow blue-line Elias Salomonsson remains in concussion protocol and has yet to resume skating.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/kenwiebe<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Ken Wiebe Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Ken produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\nKyle Connor, LW, Jets: scored two goals.
\nJonathan Toews, C, Jets: One goal, one assist.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n