The Winnipeg Jets were playing with heavy hearts on Saturday even before they lost to the Dallas Stars because star Mark Scheifele’s father Brad had died unexpectedly the night before.
Scheifele chose to play, scored the game’s opening goal in the second period and hauled down Sam Steel to prevent a breakaway in the final 15 seconds of the third period with the score tied 1-1.
Scheifele was sitting in the penalty box when Dallas’ Thomas Harley scored in overtime, ending the Jets’ season.
Players streamed over to comfort Scheifele after the game.
‘Just an awful day for him,’ Jets captain Adam Lowry said in near tears during his postgame news conference. ‘You want to give him strength. You want to get that (penalty) kill so bad. We just couldn’t do it.’
Afterward, Scheifele went through the handshake line, where the victors and their opponents show respect for each other no matter what happened in the series.
One of the players he met was Stars captain Jamie Benn, who was fined $5,000 Friday for sucker-punching Scheifele in Game 5. They shared a long hug on Saturday, exchanging several pats on the back.
The Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy with the league’s best record this season, which rarely guarantees postseason success. Winnipeg looked on the ropes in the first round but staged a furious rally in Game 7 and won in double overtime on a Lowry goal.
Trailing 3-1 in the second round, the Jets got a home shutout in Game 5 to extend the series. But they couldn’t get it done in Game 6, despite a strong effort, and fell to 0-6 on the road in the postseason.
‘I’m really proud of this group, the way they handled everything, the way we fought back,’ Lowry said. ‘We just came up short.’
Coach Scott Arniel liked how the team rallied about Scheifele and how the No. 1 center played.
‘For him to go through what he had to go through and perform the way he did, I’m so proud of him,’ Arniel said. ‘His dad would be so proud of him.’