Scheifele completes Jets’ late rally with OT winner against Blackhawks

WINNIPEG — Scott Arniel couldn’t help himself.

Moments after his Winnipeg Jets secured a dramatic 3-2 overtime victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday, the head coach was already checking the out-of-town scoreboard.

“Tonight, Nashville lost. I can’t believe that here I am sitting with 20-something games left and I’m watching every single score to see what’s going on,” Arniel said. “We have to gain points. We have to win hockey games and hope that things happen to other teams.”

The math remains daunting for Winnipeg (24-26-10). The Jets sit sixth in the Central Division, ahead of only Chicago, and are currently nine points back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

And still, the locker room refuses to fold. 

Since returning from the Olympic break, the Jets have quietly collected points in four straight games, posting a 2-0-2 record to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

Tuesday’s victory was a crucial first step as the team opened a season-high eight-game homestand. Cole Perfetti tied the game with 38.6 seconds remaining in regulation before Mark Scheifele sealed it 2:06 into overtime.

“Every game, we’re fighting for our lives at this point,” said Perfetti. “No team is going to hand it over to us. There’s going to be games where we’re up, where we’re down. Tie games going late in the games and we’ve got to make sure that there is no quit.”

The desperation has forged a renewed sense of belief inside the dressing room.

“The guys in this room want to keep pushing and pushing and pushing and just see what happens,” Scheifele added. “That’s all we can do, that’s all we can control. Just control the controllable.”

That resilience was tested against the Blackhawks.

After a sluggish middle frame where the ice was tilted against them, the Jets found their legs in the third period. Arniel noted a growing rumble on the bench as the players urged each other to keep pouring on the pressure, reminiscent of the late-game comebacks that defined their roster last season.

“Everybody in the last 10 to 12 games seems to be playing at a level that we need them to play at,” Arniel said, pointing to a more settled lineup after early-season struggles. “That’s helped with our consistency.”

The margin for error remains razor-thin. Winnipeg will need to carry that consistency into Thursday when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning, treating every night of this homestand as an elimination game.

That focus on the immediate challenge is exactly how Winnipeg’s coaching staff wants the team approaching this critical stretch.

“At the end of the day, it’s important that we got a tough Tampa team coming in here next and to get that one under our belt hopefully gives us some little bit of confidence,” Arniel said. 

“We sort of saw the way we need to play. And what was successful in that third period and carry that over into Thursday’s game.”