The Wild couldn’t overtake Winnipeg for the top spot in the NHL, but they could remind the Jets that they have competition for first place, best in the West and the Central Division crown.
That was the message the Wild started to send before they botched the delivery with a 4-1 loss on Monday night at Xcel Energy Center to drop another tightly contested division battle after they faltered in their previous biggest game vs. the Stars.
“We are right there,” winger Marcus Johansson said. “Obviously, we want to win against every team and win every night. I feel like we showed that we can play with anyone. Tonight we needed to score more goals, and that’s just how it goes sometimes.
“We had enough chances to win.”
Already in next-goal-wins territory halfway through because of stellar each team’s goaltender has been, Winnipeg never looked back after former Wild forward Nino Niederreiter’s tiebreaker at 12 minutes, 5 seconds of the second period. Netminder Connor Hellebuyck was airtight the rest of the way to finish with 43 saves and backstop the Jets to their seventh consecutive victory over the Wild and fourth in a row in St. Paul.
Niederreiter’s game-winner proved just how slim the margins were: After the Wild killed off a penalty to get back to full strength, Jake Middleton was denied twice on a breakaway, with Hellebuyck fending off the first shot and Middleton’s whack at the rebound.
As the puck went the other direction, Joel Eriksson Ek and Yakov Trenin remained behind the play tied up with the Jets’ Alex Iafallo, setting up a 4-on-3 advantage that Niederreiter capitalized on when he skated uncontested to the middle to lift a backhander past Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson. Neiderreiter has seven goals in 15 career games vs. the Wild.
“There’s some discussion points we can have on that situation,” coach John Hynes said.