Is there anything better than defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs? For Kitchener native Mark Scheifele, it felt like winning the Stanley Cup. This might be an exaggeration, but his remark from nearly three years ago during a regular season win in December has become a running joke among Leafs fans.

Scheifele asked, “Is there anything better than beating the Leafs?” while presenting the Winnipeg Jets victory helmet to Logan Stanley in December 2021. Since then, Scheifele and the Jets have had little to celebrate, as the Maple Leafs have won every matchup since, securing six consecutive victories with a total score of 26-11.

In those six victories, the Leafs scored at least four goals in all but one game, even surpassing six goals twice. In the lone game without a scoring barrage, Ilya Samsonov made 32 saves to secure a 1-0 overtime shutout.

The comments from Mark Scheifele about beating the Leafs have always seemed a bit peculiar, as the two teams aren’t even in the same conference, let alone division. The only hint of a rivalry emerged from the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, where media comparisons between Patrik Laine and Auston Matthews were prevalent, but that never truly developed, especially since the teams only face off twice a season.

The Maple Leafs’ Twitter account decided to poke fun at Mark Scheifele by sharing a photo of John Tavares with the game belt, captioned, “Anything better than a new belt pic?” Tavares earned this honor after scoring his 13th career hat trick and his first in a year and a half, backhanding a puck from center ice into an empty net on Monday night.

Coach Craig Berube opted for two strong scoring lines, having former Maple Leafs captain Tavares center veteran Max Pacioretty and William Nylander. The trio showed good chemistry, with each player notching three points, including Nylander’s team-leading sixth goal of the season.

Despite the lighthearted mockery aimed at him, Scheifele still made an impact, scoring one of Winnipeg’s four goals and adding an assist, bringing his total to 12 points in his first nine games of the season.
The two teams will part ways until December 23, when Winnipeg visits Toronto. Mark Scheifele will be looking to break his six-game losing streak against the Maple Leafs.