Winnipeg Jets' Mark Scheifele scores goal in Game 6 loss, just hours after his father's unexpected death
Just hours after his father unexpectedly passed away, Mark Scheifele stepped out onto the ice to play for the Winnipeg Jets in their must-win Game 6 of their second-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars.
And he imposed himself on the game too, scoring the opening goal five minutes into the second quarter, which his teammates celebrated by engulfing him in a group hug.
But, later on, Scheifele had a tripping penalty with 14.8 seconds left of regulation and was in the penalty box when Thomas Harley scored the winning goal for the Stars 1:33 into overtime.
That goal secured a 2-1 win for the Stars, propelling them to the NHL Western Conference finals for the third season in a row and ending the Jets' bid for the Stanley Cup.
'(It's) heartbreaking,' said Jets captain Adam Lowry after the game, his voice thick with emotion.
'For it to end the way it did and everything else that was surrounding the day, it's just a lot of emotion, I think. It's tough to put into words what Mark went through today – it's a huge goal for us, plays a heck of a game, and it ends the way it does.'
As soon as the game was over, the Jets players once again huddled around Scheifele and many of them embraced him. The Stars players too, knowing the gravity and emotion of the day for Scheifele, hugged and talked to him in the handshake line afterward.
'We're there for him,' said Jets defenseman Neal Pionk. 'We're a family. Scheif's a big part of our family and we're here for him no matter what, we weren't leaving the ice without him. We did everything we could to get him and his family a win, just didn't pull through.'
That Scheifele played at all was remarkable. That he had a goal, won 7 of 12 faceoffs and had a team-high nine hits is even more remarkable.
'For him to go through what he had to go through, and then perform the way he did, so proud of him. And his dad would be so proud of him. He wanted to win so bad,' Jets coach Scott Arniel said afterward.
'The circumstances, so, so tough. To be in a situation like that, I couldn't imagine it. The pro that he is, the leader that he is, the year that he had with us, his dad and his family would be very proud of him.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
For Connor McDavid and the Oilers, a new ‘dig in' moment arrives
SUNRISE, Fla. — A year ago, Connor McDavid stood inside this building and channelled a lifetime's worth of hopes, dreams and frustrations into a rallying cry he delivered to his Edmonton Oilers teammates, peppering in 14 F-bombs behind closed doors while urging them to 'Dig! In! Right! Now!' With the Stanley Cup Final rematch against the Florida Panthers spinning in a similarly unfavorable direction following Monday's 6-1 loss, the Oilers captain sounded a different note of defiance. Advertisement 'Obviously it wasn't our best. Not our best at all,' McDavid told reporters, his team trailing 2-1 in the Final. 'I don't think our best has shown up all series long, but it's coming.' While not nearly as visceral a reaction as the one caught by Amazon's embedded cameras last spring, it was the kind of comment that made your ears perk up and take notice. When the best player on the planet starts making statements that sound like promises on a stage as critical as this one, it would be unwise to ignore them. Especially since McDavid was speaking after a Game 3 at Amerant Bank Arena where the Oilers could not have played worse. He showed some jump on the game's opening shift, only to return to the bench in time to see Florida make it 1-0 on the one immediately following. Then the penalties started and we were well into 'garbage time' before the third period devolved into a misconduct-fest. 'I don't think we lost our composure until maybe the very end there,' McDavid said. 'We're trying to show a little bit of fight back, but I don't mind the fight back, obviously. I think that's what good teams do.' Along the road back to this second consecutive Final, McDavid has spoken about how much more even-keeled the trip has felt. While his desire to get his hands on the Stanley Cup has only deepened since falling one goal short in Game 7, he's not ridden the cresting waves of emotion that mark every team's ascent toward the summit. In some ways, the moment of truth has already arrived for Edmonton and its beloved star: Can they square this series back up here on Thursday? The Oilers need to win at least one game against the reigning champions in this building in order to dethrone them. It's telling that the team turned a planned day off Tuesday into a practice day following the lopsided Game 3 loss. Advertisement They have to find some answers against a gold-standard opponent in a place where those answers haven't been readily available to them. The Oilers' lone road win against the Panthers during last year's Final came in Game 5, which Florida coach Paul Maurice believes, in hindsight, may actually have been his team's best singular performance of that series. Guess what happened that night? McDavid had a four-point performance in Edmonton's 5-3 victory. While it's unreasonable to call on any one player to go out and solely win his team a game, even if you're talking about that sport's greatest talent, it's notable how much emphasis McDavid was already directing toward Thursday. 'Game 4 is a really big game,' McDavid said. 'You go back home at 2-2, or down 3-1. It's a big swing game. If you win Game 4, you're going home with a lot of momentum, just like them. They find a way to win Game 2, they come home with a lot of momentum. 'It's a pivotal game. There's no doubt about it.' The kind of game that calls for a team to dig in. McDavid was held off the scoresheet in Game 3 and sits at five assists so far in the series. His 13 shots are the second-most on the Oilers — trailing Evan Bouchard's 24! — and have him tied with Florida's leader Sam Reinhart. While those numbers suggest a breakthrough is coming, there was a poignant reminder midway through Monday's game about what a tough battle this is for McDavid. Somewhat stunningly, he was sent to the ice by Aaron Ekblad's punishing open-ice hit as he crossed into the offensive zone skating at top speed. That briefly sent McDavid back to the Oilers' dressing room. He returned and finished off another 20-plus minute night, and didn't seem any worse for wear afterward. If anything, a man that Edmonton GM Stan Bowman said was 'on a mission' entering this series seemed more focused than ever following a disappointing loss. Advertisement This time, when it came time for something to be said behind closed doors following the final buzzer, those words came from Leon Draisaitl, McDavid's close friend and longtime running mate in Edmonton. 'Yeah, it was a little quiet, obviously, at first because we obviously got it handed to us,' goalie Stuart Skinner said of the post-game vibes. 'But I think after that, Leo gave us some really good words of wisdom, gave us some motivation, and we know what we have to do and we're still talking a lot. 'Actually, just before I came out here, there's a lot of conversations going on just on how we got to just show up better.' You can be sure No. 97 will want to let his play do the talking before the return flight to Edmonton.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Could Blue Jackets pursue Mitch Marner via free agency? They've tried before
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Summer 2019 was a bittersweet time for the Columbus Blue Jackets. They'd just swept the Presidents' Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs — one of the greatest upsets in NHL history — to earn the first series win in franchise history. But the Blue Jackets' two star players, forward Artemi Panarin and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, were poised to leave as free agents. Advertisement The Jackets, under then-general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen, were desperate to show the world there could be life after Bread and Bob, but they would need some high-level reinforcements to make that happen. And they did, in fact, go big-game hunting that summer. To this day, it's hard to say how serious the talks were between the Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Mitch Marner, then a 22-year-old restricted free agent. But as The Athletic reported back then, Kekäläinen and Darren Ferris, Marner's agent, at least discussed the possibility of signing Marner to an offer sheet. Marner ultimately stayed with the Maple Leafs, signing a six-year, $65.4 million contract during which he cemented his status as one of the NHL's top talents. That contract expires July 1, and Marner is set to hit the market, this time as an unrestricted free agent. The Blue Jackets, now with Don Waddell in the GM's chair, are expected to pursue Marner again, but they'll have plenty of competition. Several clubs suddenly have money to spend after the NHL's salary cap increased for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. Waddell has said since he arrived last summer that the Blue Jackets' 'rebuild' is finished and they're now in the business of winning. Though many saw last season as a success — the Jackets were the last club to be eliminated from playoff contention — the club's management, coaches and players were deeply aggravated. And though Waddell's biggest task is cleaning up the club's mix-and-match defensive corps and questionable goaltending, Columbus could use help on its top two scoring lines, too. You make room for a player like Marner, who has three 90-point seasons and a 100-point season in his nine-year career. For context: No Blue Jackets player has ever scored more than 87 points in a season. Let's get the difficult part out of the way first — why would Marner, with half of the league making pitches, choose Columbus? Let us count the ways, in no particular order: For the last nine years, Marner has lived in the fishbowl of Toronto and — fairly or unfairly — he's become the face of the Maple Leafs' playoff woes. The Leafs have won only two playoff series since he's played in Toronto, and they've never made it past the second round. Advertisement The Blue Jackets certainly have playoff aspirations in 2025-26 and beyond. But Marner might benefit from stepping away from the chaos of playing in Toronto to a smaller market where he can live and play without a 24-hour spotlight pointed at him. Marner has been married for two years. He became a father for the first time just last month. Not only has Columbus drawn rave reviews from veteran players as a 'great place to raise a family,' but it's a great spot to live if you want to be close to family in Toronto … but not too close. Johnny Gaudreau chose Columbus for exactly those two reasons. Sean Monahan came here to play with Gaudreau, but he's since fallen in love with the city for its ease of living. These are only recent examples, but it's been the franchise's selling point since the early days. There's a reason so many players have either settled here or are planning to when their careers are finished. There are plenty of question marks on the Blue Jackets roster, and to watch the Stanley Cup Finals is to realize how far away they still might be. But the Jackets will be a trendy pick to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference next season, and their considerable youth suggests they might just be getting started. With centers Monahan and Adam Fantilli in the top six, and Cole Sillinger in the middle of the third line, the Blue Jackets are as strong (and young) down the middle as they've ever been. With Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson, they have budding elite-level wingers. Marner, one of the league's top playmakers, could make them a truly dangerous outfit, and when you add top-level talent to the mix, everybody around them gets better. Picture this: the Blue Jackets with a power play. As noted above, the rising salary cap has given most teams enough leeway to carry out their business this summer. Marner will have no shortage of suitors. Advertisement According to PuckPedia, only the San Jose Sharks ($41.7 million) are projected to have more salary-cap space than the Blue Jackets ($40.4 million). The number will almost certainly shrink before July 1, with defensemen Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro, forward Justin Danforth and possibly others signing contracts before they hit free agency. The Blue Jackets, though, would be able to make Marner the highest-paid player in the league if that's what it took to secure him. Toronto's Auston Matthews is the NHL's highest-paid player at $13.25 million per season, but Leon Draisaitl's eight-year, $14 million AAV extension kicks in July 1. Columbus has the space to match or exceed that. (Photo of Mitch Marner and Dmitri Voronkov: Nick Turchiaro / Imagn Images)
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
What I'm hearing about Kris Letang's future with Penguins
PITTSBURGH — Now comes the hard part for the Pittsburgh Penguins. It wasn't a difficult decision to rebuild or to infuse the roster with youth. Everyone understands what's going on. Still, the Penguins' franchise icons require a special approach. Kris Letang qualifies, and his situation is even more murky than the rest. There is plenty of good: • Letang hasn't just been a fixture on the Penguins' blue line for two decades, he's also overcome so much — two strokes, heart surgery, career-threatening neck surgery, crippling migraines, multiple concussions — that the organization holds a special place for him. • His work ethic is the stuff of legend, and younger players entering the organization get the privilege of seeing what Letang puts his body through to prepare for every season. Advertisement • Because of that work ethic, it's long been presumed that Letang, who recently turned 38, would stay young longer than most. Then, there's the bad: • Letang was terrible in the second half of this past season. He made his customary mental errors, but the problem was that he also suddenly appeared physically human, which we had never seen from him before. • Letang has three years remaining on a deal that pays him $6.1 million annually. While the NHL salary cap is increasing, this does not appear to be a good value for the next three seasons. • Letang is generally well-liked by teammates but can be difficult, especially for coaches. Several team sources, who were granted anonymity to protect personal relationships, said Letang and his play were the source of incredible frustration for head coach Mike Sullivan and assistant coach David Quinn this past season. The mental errors have always been a part of the Letang package. Still, the former Penguins coaching staff became somewhat confounded when the mental errors began to multiply as his physical ability dipped. Trading him would be the easy solution, right? Think again. First off, Letang has a full no-trade clause. It's not entirely clear if Letang would be willing to waive his clause to play for another team. He's never answered this question, commenting something along the lines of 'it's a business' when asked about it. While Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin always emphatically insist they'll never want to leave Pittsburgh, Letang — at least with the media — doesn't like to discuss it. At this point, though, whether he'd waive the clause is secondary. Penguins president and general manager Kyle Dubas probably couldn't trade him even if he wanted to. Team sources said Letang is 'unmovable.' Given his health, salary and contract length, it's believed that no NHL teams are interested in Letang's services. He's too much of a risk, and his play has deteriorated. Letang's unique health problems would require teams to pay an enormous amount of insurance on his contract, which they don't seem eager to do. It has long been presumed that Letang might be interested in playing with his hometown Montreal Canadiens or in Southern California, where Letang and his wife own a home. Advertisement But those teams aren't interested. So, what do the Penguins do with him? Dubas has made it clear that he's against buying players out, and while the time might come when it's the right decision, I don't think it'll be Letang. It's not so much that Letang is a franchise icon, but rather, I sense that Dubas doesn't find it practical. The Penguins would prefer for Letang to take on a new role. In other words, they'd like to reduce his minutes, which they believe will make him a better player. Of course, there are problems with this. • Letang was not good last season, but which Penguins player is qualified to play more minutes than him? There's no guarantee Harrison Brunicke will be NHL-ready in the 2025-26 season, and you could argue that the current crop of Penguins defensemen is the NHL's worst. • Erik Karlsson, right? Well, sure, but he wasn't good last season, either, and, unlike Letang, Karlsson could potentially be traded if the Penguins are willing to retain some of his salary. If Karlsson is traded this summer, then what? • How is Letang going to handle a reduced role? He was graceful when the Penguins traded for Karlsson, agreeing to focus more on penalty killing and defense. He was praised for handling the situation so well. There was a hint of surprise from the team, including Sullivan, at Letang's grace, which is telling. Stepping aside on the top power play and the top pairing for a future Hall of Famer is one thing. But what if the Penguins tell Letang he's going to play on the third pairing next season? How would he handle such news? That's a fair question that will need to be answered at some point in the next three seasons. He is a massive locker-room presence. When he's in a bad mood, everyone knows it. When he's in a good mood, everyone is inspired by him. Advertisement Then, there is this: Team sources say Letang doesn't believe he's playing on his final NHL contract. This deal takes him through the 2027-28 season, when he'll turn 41. Despite his health concerns, Letang wants to play in the NHL beyond that point. The Penguins hope he plays better next season. They hope that fresh eyes from a new coach will do him some good and that his heart surgery will clear up any lingering issues he's had. They hope he somehow challenges Father Time for the next three seasons, and his apparent erosion of physical talent can be chalked up to his health issues. Because the truth is, they are stuck with him.
