Wild opens second half with 2-0 loss at Winnipeg

WINNIPEG – The Jets are currently out of a playoff spot, sit in the bottom half of the Central Division and had a six-game losing streak in the not-too-distant past.

But on Tuesday, they accomplished a feat no one else in the NHL had: They shut out the Wild.

In its first game in six days, the Wild began the second half of its season with a self-inflicted 2-0 loss in front of 7,012 at Canada Life Centre. It nixed its six-game win streak and left a season-best 10-game point streak on the other side of the All-Star break.

"It was our fault," Marcus Foligno said. "We didn't shoot pucks. We didn't go to the net. There were pucks that laid in the crease, and they were the first ones there to get them. You have to give credit to Winnipeg. They did shut us out. But at the same time, too, there we were just off."

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 27 shots he faced, and teammate Mark Scheifele's first-period tally on the power play was the only goal until an empty-netter from former Gopher Nate Schmidt with 1 minute, 11 seconds to go.

Kevin Fiala went pointless for the first time in 13 games, wrapping his career-best point streak after he tied the franchise record at 12.

This was also the first time in 13 games the Wild didn't score at least three goals, a glaring drop-off after a five-day layoff.

BOXSCORE: Winnipeg 2, Wild 0

"We didn't make it hard for them to keep us to zero goals," Jordan Greenway said.

Though this was the first clash between the Central Division rivals since Nov. 26, a 7-1 rout at Xcel Energy Center in favor of the Wild, the intensity arrived early.

After Brenden Dillon checked Foligno near center ice, Greenway fought Dillon while Foligno dropped the gloves with Adam Lowry. Everyone received fighting majors, and Greenway was tagged with an additional two-minute penalty for roughing.

"We lost our composure, but rightfully so," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "If you watch the hit, [Foligno] releases the puck, he takes three strides and then gets blindsided. If you're a hockey player, you're not expecting to get hammered from the back side like that."

Evason said he didn't receive clarity on why the hit wasn't penalized.

"If Marcus Foligno isn't as big and strong as he is," Evason said, "that player's probably hurt really bad."

On the ensuing power play, the Jets capitalized when Kyle Connor set up Scheifele for a one-timer from inside the left circle that sailed by Wild goalie Kaapo Kahkonen at 8:57.

That physical edge remained, but it didn't shake loose any offense for the Wild.

The team was generating looks against Hellebuyck, especially Kirill Kaprizov, who had five shots on net through two periods. But Hellebuyck had a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

Same with Kahkonen, whose 27 saves in just his third regulation loss of the season kept the score close.

The second one came after another fight between Foligno and Lowry, with Foligno receiving an additional two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct.

"I saw them complaining about maybe I got my leg in there or something, but that was just me kind of ticked off and to try and get at him there's no intent to not throw with your fist or use another body part in there," Foligno said.

Asked about getting kneed, Lowry said, "That's something I don't really care for. But it's the heat of the moment sometimes. Your emotions get the best of you. I'll just leave it at that. He's a pretty honest player. I think he'd probably like to take that back if you could, but things happen."

NHL standings: Conference | Wild Card

Winnipeg ended up going 1-for-4 on the power play, and the Wild was 0-for-1 after scoring on the power play in its previous five games.

But the Wild has some time to rediscover its rhythm.

The team's next game isn't until Saturday at home vs. Carolina.

The Wild will see the Jets again soon, for a rematch next Wednesday in Winnipeg.

"Our group's resilient," Evason said. "They know that was not our game. We know what our game is. We'll get to it."