Offense-deprived Wild falls to 0-2 in the preseason

Winnipeg – Two preseason games, two goals for the Wild.

After a 2-1 overtime loss to Dallas on Tuesday in St. Paul, the Wild went up to MTS Bell Place on Wednesday and lost to the Winnipeg Jets 4-1.

It was already 2-0 just a minute, 37 seconds into the game. Andrew Copp and former Gopher Blake Wheeler scored 38 seconds apart, beating Wild goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen. Defenseman Sami Niku assisted on both goals.

With most of its firepower back home with the night off, the Wild opened the game with a forward line of Jordan Greenway, Luke Kunin and Joel Eriksson Ek. All three were making their first appearances of the preseason.

Nico Sturm had the only goal for the Wild, making it a 2-1 game at 8:44 of the third period when he banged in his own rebound. Greenway and Brad Hunt assisted. The Jets then put the game away with goals by Josh Morrissey and C.J. Suess, an empty-netter.

Gerald Mayhew, Iowa's leading scorer last season in the AHL, played 18:58 for the Wild and had a team-high four shots. Kyle Rau and Victor Rask also got extended minutes up front. Louie Belpedio played a team-high 23:10 on defense.

Kahkonen, a 23-year-old from Finland, settled in after the two early goals and stopped the final 18 shots he faced before he was replaced by former Gopher Mat Robson at the start of the third period. Robson stopped 10 of 11 shots in the first Wild action of his young career.

Laurent Brossoit, who made 19 starts for Winnipeg last season, made 20 saves as the Jets evened their preseason record at 1-1.

The Wild was outshot 32-21.

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