Mark Scheifele recorded a hat trick to power the Winnipeg Jets to a 6-3 victory over the Florida Panthers at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday.
Kyle Connor opened the scoring unassisted on a backhand shot at 14:13 of the first period. Scheifele widened the advantage just over three minutes later with an even-strength wrist shot, then converted on the power play at 15:41 of the second period to make it 3-0. A.J. Greer got Florida on the board late in the second period, and Sam Reinhart cut the deficit to 3-2 with a power-play snap shot 7:10 into the final frame.
Scheifele restored Winnipeg's two-goal cushion at 9:46 of the third period with his third goal of the evening. Matthew Tkachuk brought the Panthers within one on a power-play wrist shot at 16:38, but Morgan Barron scored two unassisted shorthanded empty-net goals in a span of 21 seconds to secure the win. Barron's first tally was his first goal of the season.
Connor Hellebuyck earned the win by stopping 20 of 23 shots for the Jets. Sergei Bobrovsky took the loss for the Panthers, turning aside 21 of 25 shots before Florida pulled him late in the game. Florida converted two of its four power-play opportunities, while Winnipeg went 1-for-4 on the man advantage and added two shorthanded markers.
The victory elevated Winnipeg's regular-season record to 16-3-0, while Florida dropped to 12-6-1. The result also gave the two clubs a split of their two regular-season meetings, following Florida's 5-0 win over the Jets three days earlier.
