“That’s the Leader Mark is" - Rick Bowness on Mark Scheifele
Forward Mark Scheifele takes exception following dangerous check on linemate Kyle Connor.
The Winnipeg Jets may be without Kyle Connor long-term, but at least they'll continue to have the feisty Mark Scheifele at their disposal.
Having previously dealt with a variety of injuries and even suspension over the past number of years, Scheifele remains healthy and a viable offensive option for the Jets, despite the presumed subtraction of Connor from the team's top line and power play unit.
When the team's leading goal scorer went down following a dirty knee-on-knee collision in the opening minute of the second period, it was his linemate who didn't hesitate to drop the mitts with the offender, Ryan Strome.
Scheifele may have been on the receiving end of a few heavy blows, but he spoke after the game to Winnipeg-based reporters on scene in Anaheim of his willingness to stand up for his fallen mate, given the situation.
"You don't touch any of our guys especially like that," Scheifele told Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press.
"Definitely didn't like the hit and to see KC down like that, he doesn't wince like that very often and to see him go down like that you have to get in there. We know that every guy in this room would do that for each and every one of us."
Now with five official fights on his regular season NHL card, Scheifele has become accustomed to stepping up for a teammates on the receiving end of what may or may not have been dirty checks.
“That’s the leader Mark is," head coach Rick Bowness told Murat Ates of The Athletic. "That’s why he didn’t hesitate to jump in. He saw what happened, he saw it was a dirty hit and he addressed it right away. So, good on Mark.”
This isn't the first time that Scheifele has quickly thrown off his gloves. The Patrik Laine/Jake McCabe incident may quickly come to memory.
That time, it was a clean hit, but this time, according to Bowness, it was a blatant penalty.
“It’s a knee-on-knee; he sticks his knee out," Bowness said. "You hope that’s suspendible. Knee on knee. Listen, there’s no other way of looking at it. You hope it’s suspendable. But the referees made the right call. Five-minute major and a game misconduct and we’ll see where it goes from there.”
Although Scheifele has had to answer for his own actions - see his fight with Montreal's Chris Wideman following his check on Jake Evans - he has also recently stepped up to answer the bell in situations following plays he deemed irresponsible (his fight this season with Matthew Tkachuk following Tkachuk's previous attack on Scheifele's knee).
This time, however, it was more so coming to the aid of his near career-long running mate. Despite his team not immediately scoring on the ensuing five-minute major penalty handed out to Strome, Scheifele was impressed with the Jets' comeback effort and ultimate win in a game they found themselves down 2-0 and without their top scorer.
“When you see one of your best players go down like that, sometimes it’s hard to get back to playing," he said. "We really battled hard in that third period to win that game. That was a big effort for a lot of guys.”
Next up for Scheifele is a test against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. But prior to that game, the team will likely get the news on the extent of Connor's injury.
What else they will probably hear is whether or not Mr. Strome will be sitting down with the NHL's Department of Player Safety for a suspension hearing following his actions on Sunday.
With Anaheim not playing until Wednesday, that meeting may not even happen until Tuesday. But until then, the Jets will prepare to move without their No. 1 winger.