Dylan DeMelo scored with 27 seconds remaining in the third period as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the visiting Seattle Kraken 2-1 Thursday night to remain tied with Washington for first place in the NHL’s overall standings.
Mark Scheifele also scored for the Jets, who improved to 4-1-2 on their eight-game homestand, which concludes Saturday against Calgary. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 18 saves.
Matty Beniers scored for the Kraken, who completed a five-game trip with a 2-3-0 record. Joey Daccord stopped 34 of 36 shots.
The winning goal came after a clearance attempt by Seattle defenseman Adam Larsson took a strange carom off the side glass and fell to the Jets’ Nikolaj Ehlers. He passed to DeMelo, whose wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle beat a screened Daccord to the top far corner of the net.
The Kraken opened the scoring at 8:12 of the first as Kaapo Kakko won a puck battle in his own zone to start an odd-man rush. Jaden Schwartz carried the puck down the left wing to the offensive blue line before lifting a cross-ice pass back to Kakko, who immediately swatted a backhanded pass to Beniers at the top of the crease. Beniers redirected the puck over Hellebuyck’s shoulder.
The Jets’ league-leading power play tied the score at 9:35 of the second period. Josh Morrissey’s pass found Kyle Connor for a slap shot from the top of the right faceoff circle. Daccord made the stop, but the rebound caromed almost to the left faceoff dot, where Scheifele put a one-timer into the net.
It was Scheifele’s 27th goal of the season, breaking a tie with Connor for the team lead. Scheifele also moved into a tie with Connor and Toronto’s William Nylander for third in the NHL, behind only Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl and Florida’s Sam Reinhart.
The Kraken nearly took the lead at 16:57 of the second, but Hellebuyck made a sterling glove save on a breakaway by Andre Burakovsky.
Kraken forward Brandon Tanev was scratched because of an illness.
–Field Level Media
