CHICAGO (AP) - Mark Scheifele and the Winnipeg Jets just keep rolling along.
Another long night was no big deal.
Scheifele scored twice, including 50 seconds into overtime, and the Jets beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on Friday for their fourth consecutive victory.
“Tonight wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but we’re definitely happy to get it done,” Scheifele said.
Winnipeg appeared to be headed for a 3-2 win before Erik Gustafsson drove a one-timer from the top of the slot past Laurent Brossoit with 7.5 seconds remaining in the third period, tying the game for Chicago.
But the Jets shook it right off in overtime. Scheifele dug the puck out from behind the net, skated around the side and beat Corey Crawford for his 20th goal of the season.
“I just came out and no one came to me,” Scheifele said. “I was actually looking for (Blake Wheeler) to come down the far side, but they kind of let me go and I just found the spot.”
Scheifele has four goals and seven assists during a four-game point streak, including goals in each of his last three games. He has 19 goals and 21 assists in his last 27 games overall.
“He’s almost at the playoff level he was last year,” Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said.
Patrik Laine and Mathieu Perreault also scored as Winnipeg leapfrogged idle Nashville for the top spot in the Western Conference. Blake Wheeler collected three more assists to run his team-high total to 38, second in the league behind Colorado star Mikko Rantanen.
The Jets (21-9-2) won for the eighth time in nine games overall as they continue one of their busiest stretches of the season. They were coming off a 5-4 overtime victory at Edmonton on Thursday night, part of a stretch of 12 games in the first 22 days of December.
“You can play really well against them for 58 minutes, but it only takes just an instant and then it’s in the back of your net,” Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said.
Jonathan Toews had two goals and an assist for last-place Chicago (10-19-5), which lost for the ninth time in 10 games. Crawford finished with 38 saves.
The Blackhawks also lost 6-3 at Winnipeg on Tuesday. They have dropped their last four against the Jets overall.
“A good, solid team effort,” Toews said. “Nothing we can be too negative or worked up about. We gave ourselves a chance to win. Unfortunately came up short.”
The game was tied at 2 when Perreault hopped out of the penalty box, got a pass from Scheifele and beat Crawford on the stick side with 17.2 seconds left in the second period. The forward extended his goal-scoring streak to three games with his sixth of the season.
The Blackhawks got a power-play chance in the third when Dmitry Kulikov was sent off for hooking at 16:25. But the NHL’s worst power play came up empty, and Chicago lost the man advantage when John Hayden was whistled for high sticking 48 seconds after Kulikov’s penalty.
Brossoit had 34 stops for Winnipeg, which equaled its longest win streak of the season.
The Jets jumped in front after Toews was sent off for hooking 13:37 into the first. Schiefele got a cross-ice pass from Wheeler and drove a one-timer by Crawford for the power-play goal.
After Toews got the lead for Chicago with his two goals, continuing his comeback season, Laine tied it at 2 when he beat Crawford stick side with a wicked wrist shot 15:56 into the second. Laine also scored in the victory over the Oilers and leads the Jets with 23 goals.
“It was a tough back-to-back, tough turnaround, pretty quick,” Wheeler said. “We knew we had to stick with it the first 10 minutes. Just keep grinding.”
NOTES: Gustafsson returned to the lineup after missing two games due to an illness. … Blackhawks C Artem Anisimov (concussion protocol), D Gustav Forsling (shoulder) and D Brandon Davidson (right knee surgery) participated in the morning skate. … The Jets activated D Joe Morrow (lower body) from injured reserve. … Blackhawks D Jan Rutta cleared waivers and was assigned to Rockford of the AHL.
UP NEXT
Jets: Host Tampa Bay on Sunday night.
Blackhawks: Host San Jose on Sunday night.
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Jay Cohen can be reached at https://twitter.com/jcohenap
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