A couple of days removed from a resounding victory over the Islanders, the Rangers ran into a hot goalie in what amounted to a tough 4-2 loss to the Jets at Madison Square Garden.

Ultimately, the difference was Connor Hellebuyck. A serious candidate for the Vezina, he stoned the Rangers to lead Winnipeg to a hard fought victory in the Big Apple.

Hellebuyck made 15 saves in a busy third period, including some clutch ones in crunch time to preserve the win for the Jets. He finished with 38 saves to earn the game’s first star.

He entered the night leading the league in goals-against-average (2.31 GAA) and save percentage (.922). Those numbers improved following a virtuoso performance against the Metropolitan Division-leading Rangers. 

Mark Scheifele recorded his eighth career hat trick for the Jets. He scored a pair of goals in a second period that saw the Jets outscore the Rangers 3-1.

Late in the third period, with the Rangers pressing for the equalizer, Scheifele capped it off by scoring his third goal of the game into an empty net. Prior to that goal, it looked like the Rangers would find a way to tie it up.

After lifting Igor Shesterkin for an extra attacker with two and a half minutes left, Alexis Lafreniere got to his own rebound to score a career high 20th goal to pull them within 3-2. He redirected an Adam Fox shot that took a carom off a Winnipeg player right to Lafreniere to cut the deficit to one with still 1:54 remaining.

Lafreniere also created the Rangers’ best chance to tie it. He took a pass and gained the Jets’ zone, and moved the puck across the ice. It nearly led to a Chris Kreider tip-in. The shot just missed the goalpost. Hellebuyck was in the right position. It’s possible he could’ve made the blocker save.

Speaking of Kreider, it wasn’t a good game for him. His giveaway led directly to Scheifele, getting his second unassisted on a breakaway late in the second period. That proved to be the game-winner.

In the final period, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette mixed up his lines. Kreider slid down to the third line with Will Cuylle and Vincent Trocheck. Artemi Panarin and Lafreniere shifted to the top line with Mika Zibanejad. Alex Wennberg worked between Kaapo Kakko and Will Cuylle.

“We need to be a little bit crisper. It wasn’t about a top 6 or bottom 6. … We were a little bit flat. Just wanted to change and try something different,” Laviolette explained to reporters following the defeat.

It didn’t start off that way. In a good matchup that featured two first place teams, the first period was back and forth. The Rangers held a 13-9 edge in shots. However, they found it tough to get the puck past Hellebuyck. He was sharp.

Conversely, Shesterkin made nine saves in a high-quality period that had a lot of skating and countering.

With Hellebuyck continuing to stifle the Rangers early into the second, Scheifele scored the game’s first goal on a bit of a change up. Taking a pass from Alex Iafallo, he shot a floater that fooled Shesterkin just enough to sneak by him.

The Rangers responded over five minutes later thanks to the power play. With Josh Morrissey off for hooking Kakko, it was the second unit that came through to tie the game. A Lafreniere shot was stopped by Hellebuyck. Wennberg was able to get to the rebound and backhand the loose puck in for a power-play goal. It was his first goal as a Ranger.

Unfortunately, a Braden Schneider hooking minor put the Jets on the man-advantage. They replied back by converting when Tyler Toffoli and Sean Monahan combined to set up Kyle Connor for a one-timer past Shesterkin. They re-took the lead.

In the second part of the period, the Rangers were sloppy. Shesterkin already had bailed them out by stopping Nik Ehlers on a breakaway. This time, Kreider had the  puck stolen by Scheifele. He couldn’t be caught by a chasing Zibanejad. Scheifele buried the chance to give the Jets a 3-1 lead headed to the third period.

As has been their trademark, the Rangers never gave up. After killing off a bad Kakko tripping penalty in the offensive zone, they turned it up. The new lines generated some chances. But the story was Hellebuyck. He wasn’t allowing anything to get by him. He had great rebound control.

When Laviolette went back to his original lines, they continued to pressure. The Jets did a good job defending in front of Hellebuyck. They took away most of the inside. That made it tough.

It wasn’t until he lifted Shesterkin that things got interesting. On some sustained forecheck pressure during a 6-on-5, Trocheck worked the puck up top for Fox. He faked a pass before throwing a soft shot towards the net that Lafreniere redirected. The puck went off a Jets’ body right back for Lafreniere to one-time past Hellebuyck to make it a one-goal game with under two minutes to go.

With Shesterkin still on the bench, Fox made a diving play to keep a puck in. He’d also make another great diving play in the neutral zone to temporarily give his team one more opportunity. But a Kreider back pass resulted in Monahan and Morrissey combining to move puck ahead for Scheifele to calmly shoot into the open net for the hat trick.