Wild Struggle to Solve Jets’ Hellebuyck in 4-1 Loss – The Hockey Writers Minnesota Wild Latest News, Analysis & More

The Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets faced off for the second time this season on Monday, Nov. 25, in St. Paul, Minnesota. The last time these two teams faced off was over a month ago when the season first started on Oct. 13. That game was the Wild’s first on the road, and they fell in overtime 2-1. 

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The goaltending showdown was between Filip Gustavsson for the Wild and Connor Hellebuyck for the Jets. Kirill Kaprizov was back in the lineup after missing their previous game against the Calgary Flames due to a lower-body injury. Still, Marat Khusnutdinov also remained out due to a lower-body injury. There was a lot of back-and-forth action once again but the Jets came out on top 4-1. This moves the Wild to 13-4-4 and the Jets to 18-4-0. 

Game Recap

As expected, these two teams started high-energy, with strong chances for both sides. The Wild got the upper hand with the first goal just before the period’s halfway point, a goal by defenseman Jake Middleton, who knocked in a Marcus Johansson shot. However, the Jets didn’t back down, answering back a couple minutes later to tie the game at one off a goal by Alex Iafallo. The period would remain tied despite some great opportunities for both sides. 

In the second period, each team had more of the same chances until the Jets got the upper hand and scored to take their first lead of the game. Former Wild player Nino Niederreiter scored the goal to give his team the 2-1 advantage, and the second would end with that score. 

The Jets went on to add to that lead in the third period, as Iafallo scored his second of the game, this time on the power play, to give his team the 3-1 lead. The Wild had some big opportunities to tie the game, but they couldn’t get anything past Hellebuyck. The Jets would add one more goal, an empty-netter by Adam Lowry, to seal the deal and give them even more of a cushion on the Wild in the Central Division race. 

The Minnesota Wild will head back on the road for a quick trip to face the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday evening, Nov. 27. The Jets will remain on the road as they pass the halfway mark of their six-game road trip when they take on the Los Angeles Kings also on Wednesday.