Scheifele sends Jets past Canes in thriller
WINNIPEG -- Team North America may have played their last game in the World Cup a few weeks ago but their style of play lives on.
The run-and-gun offense that many fans found so entertaining during the recent best-on-best tournament was on full display Thursday night at the MTS Centre as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in a 5-4 thriller.
New Jets captain Blake Wheeler broke in on a two-on-one with center Mark Scheifele with just over two minutes to go in the extra period and Scheifele tapped home a cross-crease pass.
Perhaps the end-to-end action shouldn't have been surprising as both the Jets and Canes are two of the youngest teams in the NHL.
Shawn Matthias got the home crowd on their feet early when he banked a shot off the back of Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward at 4:14 of the first period.
Matthias joined the Jets in the offseason as a free agent after spending last year with Colorado and Toronto.
The Jets nearly went up by a pair during a nearly two-minute two-man advantage in the middle of the period. Danish sensation Nikolaj Ehlers had the best chance when he rang a shot off the post from the point.
The Hurricanes drew even at 11:23 of the period when center Jeff Skinner found himself all alone in front of Connor Hellebuyck and had enough time to take a first shot and then bat in the rebound before any defenders could get near him.
Patrik Laine, the Jets highly-touted rookie, had a slow start and seemed to be fighting the puck for much of the game. He received his first cheers as a pro after wallpapering defenseman Noah Hanifan behind the Hurricanes' net.
The Canes took the lead early in the second period with Matthias off for a minor penalty when Lee Stempniak netted his first of the season.
The Canes took a 3-1 lead with just 31 seconds left in the period following some controversy.
Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien started to break out of his zone and appeared to be hooked by left winger Viktor Stalberg and lost the puck. One of the referees put his hand up -- to call a penalty, the sold-out crowd believed -- only to have the other referee signal a goal as Jordan Staal ripped a shot past Hellebuyck.
Byfuglien complained vehemently and drew both a referee and a linesman to the Jets bench as he demonstrated the hook.
NOTES: The Hurricanes won both games over the Jets last season; a 5-3 win in Carolina in February and a 2-1 decision at Winnipeg in March. ... The start of the game was delayed about 10 minutes as the Jets paid tribute to super fan Len Kropioski, 95, who died last month. The Second World War veteran became a fan favorite early in the 2011-12 season after being shown on the scoreboard saluting during the national anthem. ... Jets coach Paul Maurice spent 920 games during two stints behind the bench of the Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers from 1995-2004 and 2009-12. ... Youth is being served with the Jets as three veterans found themselves in the press box as healthy scratches; D Mark Stuart, RW Chris Thorburn and C Alex Burmistrov. Joining them from the Hurricanes were D Roland McKeown, RW Martin Frk and Phillip Di Guiseppe.