Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets dealt devastating loss but meet it with courage and heart

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DALLAS — Mark Scheifele stepped out of the penalty box and into the arms of his teammates. Game 6 couldn’t have ended worse for the Winnipeg Jets but there they were, waiting to hug him, even after the series-ending handshake line had begun.

Scheifele played Game 6 against the Dallas Stars for his father, Brad, who died overnight Friday, and for his teammates, whose hearts broke for him once when they heard the news and again when Thomas Harley scored in overtime for a 2-1 win. That it was Scheifele in the penalty box, called for a late third-period tripping penalty that negated a breakaway, was a cruel end to an already devastating day.

Adam Lowry hugged Scheifele as the Stars celebrated. Lowry then waited beside the swarm of Jets, each embracing Scheifele in turn, each trying to console him at an inconsolable time.

“You want to give him the strength,” Lowry said, fighting back tears. “You want to get that (penalty kill) so bad… We just couldn’t do it.”

For Scheifele, Game 6 started as a way to honour his dad. It ended with more heartbreak, but not without courage in the face of a devastating loss.

The timing of Brad Scheifele’s death was a surprise, but the Scheifele family had the chance to make a plan. What would Mark do if his dad, whose health had taken a turn, died during the playoffs? The Scheifele’s family decision — made privately, lived publicly — will go down in Jets playoff lore: Scheifele would play, and he would play his heart out.

That’s exactly what he did. It was Scheifele who dragged the Jets out of their disjointed start, finishing off the game-opening goal.

THAT ONE WAS FOR DAD 💙 pic.twitter.com/gI5Zj2MeGd

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) May 18, 2025

Scheifele followed up on Nikolaj Ehlers’ stopped breakaway attempt, winning the puck off the left wing boards and firing his own shot attempt. Scheifele then snuck behind Alex Petrovic to stuff Kyle Connor’s rebound between Jake Oettinger’s pads.

Neal Pionk, who was one of Winnipeg’s other top players in Game 6, was blown away by Scheifele’s performance.

“For him to play tonight and play the way he did is flat out, one of the most courageous things I’ve ever seen,” Pionk said.

Pionk is well aware of the importance of community during difficult times. He has mourned the death of his close friend, Adam Johnson, in part with the help of the Jets.

He said Winnipeg’s players wanted to send Scheifele the message that they were there for him.

“We’re a family, Scheif’s a big part of our family, and we’re here for him no matter what. That was a ‘We weren’t leaving the ice without him’ kind of thing,” Pionk said. “We did everything we could to get him and his family a win, just didn’t pull through.”

Winnipeg’s Round 2 series loss can be picked apart in a number of ways. There was the Jets’ inability to win a game on the road. There was Mason Appleton’s weak shot, stopped by a diving Oettinger after Connor and Lowry worked a brilliant passing ice to get Appleton a cross-ice feed. There was Petrovic’s kick goal, the Jets’ ensuing Game 3 collapse, and there was also the Jets’ mediocre performance at home in Game 1. Winnipeg’s series-opening game (and Mikko Rantanen’s hat trick in that game) may eventually come to haunt Winnipeg more than the devastating end to Game 6. The analysis of Winnipeg’s season and upcoming offseason will come in the coming days.

But the story of Winnipeg’s Game 6 loss is inextricably connected to Scheifele and the loss of his dad.

Scheifele was just trying to get the puck to the net with 22 seconds left in the third period, but Sam Steel blocked his shot and chased down the bouncing puck. Scheifele skated after him as the seconds ticked away, diving to try to stop Steel’s breakaway, ultimately pulling down. The referees had kept their whistles to themselves during so many other altercations in Game 6 but could not let Scheifele’s trip go uncalled.

The Jets killed the first 15 seconds of Scheifele’s penalty to end the third period and all but 13 seconds of it in overtime. The Jets could have lost in any other way with any other player in the box but it seemed particularly cruel that it was Scheifele — after such a good game, so soon after losing his dad.

He’d given everything he could.

“I’m so proud of him and his dad would be so proud of him. He wanted to win so bad,” coach Scott Arniel said. “The circumstances (were) so, so tough … His dad and his family would be very proud of him.”

And isn’t that what so many of us want in life? The opportunity to do one thing — big or small, publicly or privately, on the ice or off of it — that makes our loved ones proud. Scheifele was dealt a brutal moment on Saturday. He met it with courage and heart on hockey’s biggest stage. With the support of his teammates and his family, he may continue to meet it with courage and heart. What more of an emotional response could there be than that?

Scott Arniel speaks moments after the Jets’ season comes to an end pic.twitter.com/oO64HhS8O8

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 18, 2025

When Scheifele first arrived at the visitors’ dressing room, he was surrounded by teammates, too. The days’ loss was evident in his sullen expression, but his presence indicated his desire to play before Arniel confirmed it.

“As he said, that’d be the wishes of his dad: He would have wanted him to play,” Arniel said.

The Jets’ cultural growth between missing the playoffs in 2022 and showing up for one another so poignantly after Game 6 deserves a moment.

Three years ago, Jets’ players called each other out for not playing for one another. Two years ago, former coach Rick Bowness accused his team of having “no pushback” as they played to a lackluster effort against Vegas. Last year, the effort was better but the Jets were clearly outclassed by Colorado. Those issues aren’t holding Winnipeg back anymore.

While they weren’t able to come all the way back from 3-1 down, the Jets showed resilience throughout these playoffs.

Winnipeg won Game 7 against St. Louis in historic fashion and fought off elimination against Dallas in Game 5 on Thursday. It overcame injuries to Scheifele, Gabriel Vilardi, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Josh Morrissey. Winnipeg rallied around Scheifele during his personal tragedy, took Game 6 against Dallas to overtime, and outscored Dallas 14-13 in Round 2. Then, when Harley scored the goal that won the series for Dallas, the Jets had the presence of mind to go straight to Scheifele for support.

“I can’t stress enough how proud I am of our group,” Arniel said. “When things are hard and things are tough, especially this year, we didn’t cower away from it. We faced it head on.”

Game 6 against Dallas gave Jets fans the opportunity to see Winnipeg’s players show great care for each other in a public setting. Arniel shed some light on Winnipeg’s leadership group behind the scenes; it really does seem that the Jets’ culture is in a better place.

“I’ve seen it build over the last couple of years,” Arniel said. “It starts in our room with our veterans, our leaders, Low, Scheif, JMo some of those guys and obviously other veterans who have been here for a while: Helly, P (Pionk), those guys. They do a fantastic job in our room, certainly how they welcome (people) in but also recognize there’s a way we look after each other, how we care for each other, both on and off the ice.”

These playoffs felt like growth. It is easier to believe that this core has the pieces to succeed because the Jets backed up their refreshing earnestness in last year’s exit interviews with a high-quality season from start to finish.

But a return to this season’s quality of play will not be easy.

Winnipeg’s roster would ideally be supplemented by even more forward quality and another defender who can clear Connor Hellebuyck’s sightlines. Pressing roster concerns include Nikolaj Ehlers’ free agent status, plus the need to extend restricted free agents Gabriel Vilardi and Dylan Samberg. Mason Appleton and Brandon Tanev are also pending UFAs; Morgan Barron and Rasmus Kupari are Winnipeg’s other RFAs.

For the moment, the pressing concern is the Jets’ emotional loss.

The hockey world loves you, 55 💙 pic.twitter.com/5dmtIK4vRD

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 18, 2025

Lowry called it “heartbreaking.”

“We felt like we had a great regular season. We felt like we had a team that could go on a run,” Lowry said. “For it to end the way it did and everything else surrounding the day, it’s just a lot of emotion. It’s tough to put into words what Mark went through today. Gets a huge goal for us, plays a heck of a game, and it ends the way it does.”

(Top photo: Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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