Jets' Scheifele benched for 17 straight minutes in loss vs. Leafs
Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele rode pine for a significant portion of Saturday's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Scheifele went straight off the ice after a Kyle Connor turnover instead of backchecking on Toronto's third goal. He didn't see the ice for 17 straight minutes after that shift, per ShiftChart.com.
It takes two to make a thing go right 🎶#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/d5IEFSaFUF
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 25, 2021
Head coach Paul Maurice didn't divulge the specifics behind Scheifele's benching.
"We have some things that we value as a group," Maurice said postgame, according to The Athletic's Murat Ates. "Mark's a real competitive guy, and that gets the best of him sometimes, I think. We just need to adhere to our core values."
Scheifele ended up logging 17:11 of ice time in the game - his second-lowest total of the season. He was minus-2 with no points in the contest.
Jets captain Blake Wheeler said Scheifele responded well to the benching.
"We need him out there to have success," Wheeler said. "I thought he did a good job with it."
Scheifele leads the Jets with 54 points in 47 games.