Mark Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi each had a goal and an assist for the Jets (35-33-12), who were eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention. Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves.
“It (stinks). We were pushing until the end. It’s a tough reality,” Scheifele said. “That’s just the game of hockey.”
Stone put the Golden Knights ahead 1-0 at 7:38 of the second period with a short-handed goal. He took a pass from Eichel on a 2-on-1 rush and scored with a one-timer that trickled through Hellebuyck’s five-hole.
“I’ve never seen Stone skate so fast in my life,” Tortorella said. “I’d like to know how fast he went on that short-handed goal, but he is the whole package, right?”
Reilly Smith made it 2-0 at 18:54 when he redirected Noah Hanifin’s shot from the point nine seconds after a power play expired.
“We sometimes try to pass the puck into the net,” Tortorella said. “We’re trying to concentrate not just on the power play but 5-on-5, trying to sift more pucks to the net and not overpass. There’s a fine line there because there are a number of skilled players on this hockey team. We certainly want to let them make plays, but there are certain times you can just put it in the paint.”
Barbashev scored 31 seconds into the third period to extend the lead to 3-0. Eichel sent a no-look backhand pass while skating behind the net to Barbashev, who scored into an open net from the bottom of the right circle.
“It’s a play we’ve run before. You get everyone kind of going one way and then go back the other against the grain,” Eichel said. “It’s a great battle by him on the boards. He wins the puck and gets it low to me. I kind of know where he is, and he’s kind of hanging out in that soft area. Kind of a bang-bang play. It was a big goal for us at the time.”
Vilardi cut it to 3-1 at 2:34, chipping in a shot-pass from Colin Miller at the left post for a power-play goal.
Andersson answered back at 3:37. He jumped off the bench, took a cross-ice pass from Stone, and roofed a wrist shot over Hellebuyck’s glove from the right circle to make it 4-1.
“He’s really dangerous when he gets moving up in the rush,” Hanifin said of Andersson. “He has a phenomenal shot as well. If he finds that soft ice and he’s coming in late, he’s really dangerous. We’re looking to continue to build on that.”
Scheifele made it 4-2 at 4:41. Hart made the initial save on Kyle Connor's shot from the slot, but the rebound bounced right to Scheifele, who buried it from below the right circle.
Scheifele has an NHL career-high 101 points (35 goals, 66 assists) this season, the most in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history.
“It’s impressive. He’s been through all the ups and downs of our season,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “He’s been one of the consistent guys right from the start of the year to today. He’s one of our leaders. Real proud of him. To get that many points, that’s special.”
Scheifele, though, was assessed a double minor for high-sticking just 24 seconds later at 5:05.
Pavel Dorofeyev scored on the ensuing power play at 5:42, beating Hellebuyck blocker side from the right circle to make it 5-2.
