Jets Captain Mark Scheifele Should Be Suspended for Series After Gruesome Hit on Jake Evans

It was a gruesome scene at the end of Game 1 of the North Division Finals between the Winnipeg Jets and the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night.

Jets captain Mark Scheifele went head hunting against Canadiens forward Jake Evans, who picked up the loose puck and had just put it in the empty net to give Montreal the game-securing goal.

The NHL will hold a hearing today to decide what Scheifele’s punishment will be, but there’s no question that it should be a multiple-game suspension.

Scheifele was head hunting for the entire third period, seemingly allowing his emotions get the better of him in a game where the Canadiens dominated from start to finish. Those who are defending Scheifele are saying that he was trying to prevent the goal, but his disregard for the puck on the play would prove otherwise.

If Scheifele is able to return this series, he’ll be on the receiving end of hockey’s unwritten rules. Canadiens defenseman Joel Edmundson said after the game that if he sees Scheifele on the ice again this series, they’re going to “make his life miserable."

It was a needless hit, and Scheifele will face consequences one way or another.

It was announced this morning that the Scheifele’s hearing will not be an in-person hearing, which means the maximum suspension will be five games. If he is sentenced to the full five games, Scheifele will be on the ice for Game 7, if the series goes that far.

WynnBET now has the Canadiens set as -185 favorites to win the series after securing the victory in last night’s Game 1. The two teams will play in Winnipeg once more for Game 2, before returning to the Bell Centre in Montreal for Game 3. The Jets are slight -120 favorites (Bet $120 to win $100) in Friday night’s Game 2.