Scheifele scores twice as Jets grab wild win over Canadiens

The Winnipeg Jets made dubious history on Tuesday, becoming the first team in NHL history to blow a four-goal lead and then win by four goals.

Mark Scheifele scored twice and added an assist to spoil a spirited Montreal comeback and lead Winnipeg to an 8-4 victory over the Canadiens. Pierre-Luc Dubois also had a goal and two assists as the Jets snapped the Habs' five-game winning streak.

“That was a crazy game, a lot of back and forth,” said Dubois. “Mistakes, penalties. Our job is to be the best we can and stay (consistent) the whole time. But when momentum swings like that and penalties and four on fours, it can get a bit more complicated.

“To keep going and not panic too much feels really good. At this point of the year, we’ll take the two points and be happy with it. We did a lot of good things. I think it’s a game we can use to build off.”

Paul Stastny, Andrew Copp, Adam Lowry, Nate Schmidt and Evgeny Svechnikov also scored for Winnipeg (24-21-9). Goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped 31-of-35 shots for Winnipeg before 13,816 fans at Canada Life Centre.

“We made plays,” Scheifele said. “You can tell their game has changed a bit. They’re on the puck, they swarm, they make you make plays. You can’t just throw your mess to someone else.

"You’ve got to make a play, you’ve got to handle the puck, you’ve got to get it under control quick and you’ve got to make a play. You’ve got to do it fast, you’ve got to do it precise, you’ve got to put it on the guys’ tape and that’s what we did."

Josh Anderson scored three goals in a losing cause for Montreal (13-34-7). Artturi Lehkonen scored the other Montreal marker.

"Any time you start a game like that down four goals, it’s difficult," said Anderson. "But the guys hung in there and we battled back as a team and were able to tie the game."

Montreal netminder Sam Montembeault made 17 saves on 23 shots before being replaced by Andrew Hammond at 5:49 of the third. Hammond made five saves on six shots.

“Any time you lose the game, it’s frustrating,” Anderson said. “There were too many penalties. I think we kind of shot ourselves in the third period and it kind of got away from ourselves in the third period."

The Jets had blown a 4-0 first-period lead, but rebounded to take the lead late in the second period. They then added two more in the third.

Four of Winnipeg's goals came on six power plays, while Montreal was 1 for 6 with the man advantage.

“I think we self-inflicted a lot,” said Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis. “I think we took four or five defensive zone penalties. It was really hard tonight to manage the bench in terms of having a nice flow, so to speak.

“There was not a lot of flow for a lot of the parts of the game. I think we’re a really good team when we can play with a little more flow off the bench. I obviously haven’t coached much at this level, but it was a hard one to manage, just all the different scenarios that were happening.”

It was the first of a four-game homestand for Winnipeg, who will play host to the Dallas Stars on Friday.

The Canadiens will face the Flames in Calgary on Thursday.

NOTES – After a tribute to Ukraine as it endures an invasion by Russia and a call for peace, the Hoosli Ukrainian Male Chorus kicked off the proceedings with an emotional rendition of the Ukrainian national anthem. That was followed by a rousing Canadian national anthem. The crowd responded with standing ovations … Jets forward Andrew Copp returned to action after missing six games with a concussion … Captain Blake Wheeler played his 800th game with the Jets.