The Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets met up for the third time this season and the second time in Winnipeg on Saturday evening, Dec. 21. The Wild’s injury list was the same as the night prior, with the only changes being Jon Merrill in for Travis Dermott and Travis Boyd in for Ben Jones. The Jets were missing both Logan Stanley and Dylan Samberg, who were out with lower-body injuries.
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The goaltenders were Jesper Wallstedt for the Wild and Connor Hellebuyck for the Jets. The Jets got things going early and kept their foot on the gas the whole game as they took down the Wild 5-0. This moved the Wild’s record to 20-10-4 and the Jets to 24-10-1.
Game Recap
The Jets got on the board first with a power play goal near the seven-minute mark of the first period. It was scored by Nikolaj Ehlers and was assisted by Kyle Connor and James Morrissey to give their team an early lead. There were chances for both sides throughout the rest of the period, but the Jets found the back of the net with just over three minutes remaining in the period to give themselves a two-goal lead. Morgan Barron scored the goal from Alex Iafallo and Adam Lowry, and the period ended 2-0 in favor of the Jets.
The second period remained in control of the Jets as they added a third goal, second on the power play just five minutes into the second. Neal Pionk tallied the goal and was assisted by Cole Perfetti and former Wild forward Nino Neiderreiter. The Wild had plenty of chances on the power play that period but couldn’t convert, and the period ended 3-0.
In the third period, the Jets capitalized on a miscommunication by the Wild’s defense and added a fourth goal, this time by Perfetti. They didn’t stop there as Vladislav Namestnikov scored to make it 5-0, with Pionk and Perfetti getting the assists. That was the final goal of the period and the game as the Jets took the win.
The Wild will head home to host the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, Dec. 23, in their final game before the holiday break. The Jets will head on the road to face the Toronto Maple Leafs also on Monday before they also head on holiday break.
