The scenes were heartbreaking.
Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele held his head in his hands in the penalty box after Thomas Harley scored the series-winning goal for the Dallas Stars in overtime on Saturday.
Jets captain Adam Lowry went to the penalty box to console Scheifele before the Stars players had several long embraces with the Winnipeg star in the handshake line.
Hours earlier, the Jets announced that Scheifele's father, Brad, had passed away unexpectedly overnight.
“I’m so proud of him," Jets coach Scott Arniel said after his team's 2-1 overtime loss in Game 6 in Dallas. "His dad would have been so proud of him."
"It's tough to put into words what Mark went through today," Lowry said. "Gets a huge goal for us. Plays a heck of a game and ends the way it does. Just Emotional. Heavy."
Scheifele tripped up Sam Steel to prevent a breakaway with 15 seconds left in the third period, resulting in what ended up being the winning power play.
Scheifele opened the scoring in the second period with a goal that brought great joy to hockey fans.
Scheifele’s goal marked his first on the road in the playoffs since 2019 and brought him to 49 career playoff points with the Jets, tying him for the franchise lead alongside teammate Kyle Connor and the late Dale Hawerchuk, who coached Scheifele during his time with the OHL’s Barrie Colts.
After the game, Stars general manager Jim Nill and hockey great Wayne Gretzky stopped by the Jets' dressing room to shake hands with Scheifele and voice their support.
"You want to get that kill so bad," Lowry said, fighting back tears. "We just couldn't do it."
Added Winnipeg's Neal Pionk: "Did everything we could to get him and his family a win. Just didn't pull through."
Stars coach Peter DeBoer coached junior hockey with the Kitchener Rangers in Scheifele's hometown.
"I consider myself a Kitchener guy. His family is from Kitchener. Just courageous what he did tonight," DeBoer said. "I’m sure his dad would have been really proud of him and what he did and I’m sure his dad would have wanted him there (on the ice)."
— with files from CP.
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