Just hours after his father unexpectedly passed away, Mark Scheifele stepped out onto the ice to play for the Winnipeg Jets in their must-win Game 6 of their second-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars.
And he imposed himself on the game too, scoring the opening goal five minutes into the second quarter, which his teammates celebrated by engulfing him in a group hug.
But, later on, Scheifele had a tripping penalty with 14.8 seconds left of regulation and was in the penalty box when Thomas Harley scored the winning goal for the Stars 1:33 into overtime.
That goal secured a 2-1 win for the Stars, propelling them to the NHL Western Conference finals for the third season in a row and ending the Jets’ bid for the Stanley Cup.
“(It’s) heartbreaking,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry after the game, his voice thick with emotion.
“For it to end the way it did and everything else that was surrounding the day, it’s just a lot of emotion, I think. It’s tough to put into words what Mark went through today – it’s a huge goal for us, plays a heck of a game, and it ends the way it does.”
As soon as the game was over, the Jets players once again huddled around Scheifele and many of them embraced him. The Stars players too, knowing the gravity and emotion of the day for Scheifele, hugged and talked to him in the handshake line afterward.
“We’re there for him,” said Jets defenseman Neal Pionk. “We’re a family. Scheif’s a big part of our family and we’re here for him no matter what, we weren’t leaving the ice without him. We did everything we could to get him and his family a win, just didn’t pull through.”
That Scheifele played at all was remarkable. That he had a goal, won 7 of 12 faceoffs and had a team-high nine hits is even more remarkable.
“For him to go through what he had to go through, and then perform the way he did, so proud of him. And his dad would be so proud of him. He wanted to win so bad,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said afterward.
“The circumstances, so, so tough. To be in a situation like that, I couldn’t imagine it. The pro that he is, the leader that he is, the year that he had with us, his dad and his family would be very proud of him.”
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