The Minnesota Wild’s blip is officially a stumble as the slumping, skidding team once again were patsies against the Winnipeg Jets.
For the second year in a row, the Jets swept the season series against Minnesota with an easy-as-can-be 5-0 win at Canada Life Centre to go 3-0 this season against their rival from the south.
In fact, it was the eighth consecutive victory by Winnipeg over the Wild. The Jets have outscored the Wild 31-12 in those eight games.
The Wild, who a little more than a week ago had the best points percentage in the NHL, dropped their fourth game in a row overall and sixth in the past eight. It was the first time this season they were shut out.
Ravaged with five injuries, including to their No. 1 goalie, Filip Gustavsson, the Wild are 1-5 without defenseman Jake Middleton (he was hurt one shift into the Edmonton game on Dec. 12) and 3-6 without center Joel Eriksson Ek.
“It’s not about who’s out. It’s about who’s in and it’s about having the right mindset and playing the game the right way,” said coach John Hynes, perturbed by the Wild playing an east-west game and passing up shots. “We have capable players and we have to get back to playing a certain style of game and being consistent with it. We have it in pockets. We don’t have it enough.”
The Wild, who Friday night completed a 1-4 homestand, will take Sunday off for their annual family Christmas party and will host the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night. They’ll then enter the NHL’s three-day holiday break before reconvening Friday morning at MSP for a 2 1/2-hour flight to Dallas to play that night against the Stars.
Wild’s penalty kill kills ’em again
It’s tiresome to even discuss anymore, but the league’s 30th-ranked penalty kill finally dipped below 70 percent on the season by allowing two more goals on five Jets tries Saturday. They have given up 27 power-play goals on 85 chances this season (69.4 percent).
The goals? Six seconds and 14 seconds into two of their penalty kills.
“We’ll be able to digest it tonight on the plane and then (Sunday) and make the necessary adjustments and continue to move forward,” said Hynes, who was displeased by missed assignments after the Wild lost faceoffs on the PK.
Brendan Gaunce, called up with the hope he could improve the Wild’s hideous faceoff proficiency on the penalty kill, got beat and four seconds later, Nikolaj Ehlers scored for the game’s opening goal.
Nice List:
Nikolaj Ehlers ✅ pic.twitter.com/9sjZKWfjRX— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) December 22, 2024
Then, in the second period, Jesper Wallstedt swatted a puck into the netting for a delay of game penalty and was beaten on an unscreened point shot by Hermantown’s Neal Pionk for a 3-0 lead.
Neal Pionk rips one past Wallstedt and the #NHLJets lead 3-0. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/wWWQqDWkGy
— Connor Hrabchak (@ConnorHrabchak1) December 22, 2024
The Wild have allowed 10 power-play goals in the past seven games.
Wallstedt shelled
For a guy who admittedly lost confidence this season and admitted earlier in the week that he hasn’t been playing up to his standards in Iowa, Wallstedt wasn’t exactly put into the best position to succeed in his two starts with Gustavsson hurt.
GO DEEPER
‘I was so lost in my own mind’: Wild’s Jesper Wallstedt opens up about his trying season
The Wild opted to play him on the back end of two back-to-backs.
He could hardly be blamed for the three goals he gave up in a one-goal, home loss to Vegas. Saturday, he wasn’t very good and couldn’t cover up the Wild’s glaring blemishes, which included tired legs, wasted offensive opportunities and several examples where the Wild, especially their skilled players like slumping Matt Boldy, were soft on pucks and continually overpassing. He gave up five goals on 24 shots.
Winnipeg’s second goal came after Wallstedt couldn’t freeze a puck after the Wild pressured and Kirill Kaprizov was gassed on the backcheck. We mentioned the first and third goals above, but the fourth goal came on a Jonas Brodin-to-Marcus Johansson turnover and the fifth came after the Wild were running around and Zach Bogosian didn’t tie up Vladislav Namestnikov’s stick on a Pionk point shot.
“I thought he battled,” Hynes said.
But the Wild desperately need Wallstedt to prove to them why he was drafted in the first round in 2021 and why they awarded him with a one-way contract extension before this season when there was plenty of time to sign him beyond this year. After a pedestrian year last season in the AHL, the 22-year-old is 5-6-1 this year in Iowa with a 3.77 goals-against average and .874 save percentage. He’s now 0-2 this season in the NHL after going 2-1 last year.
Winnipeg goal!
Scored by Vladislav Namestnikov with 12:24 remaining in the 3rd period.
Assisted by Neal Pionk and Cole Perfetti.
Winnipeg: 5
Minnesota: 0#MINvsWPG #GoJetsGo #mnwild pic.twitter.com/2uxkneKIEr— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) December 22, 2024
Wild have zero offensive depth
The Wild have scored two goals in the past three games and have two goals or fewer in five of their past six. It has now been 17 periods since the Wild scored a goal without Kaprizov on the ice.
Yes, they’re severely banged up and playing a bunch of forwards who quite frankly should be in Iowa (it’s beyond belief that Devin Shore and Ben Jones have each played 15 games without managing even an assist), but the underlying numbers have been sounding alarms all season that if Kaprizov slumped, the Wild would slump with him.
Even when the Wild were atop the league standings, they were near the bottom in expected goals and chances generated at five-on-five. Plus, their power play has scored four times since Nov. 23.
Well, Kaprizov can’t be expected to be the lone guy to score.
Ryan Hartman has one goal in his past 22 games and no points in his past 15. Boldy has three goals in his past 18. Johansson has one goal in his past 14. Freddy Gaudreau has two goals and one assist in his past 15. Marcus Foligno has one goal in his past 20.
Hynes said the Wild went “off script” against the Jets by playing too cute, too east-west, too perimeter.
“The mindset needs to be to play the game the right way and play the game that gives us the best chance to win, gives us the best chance to produce offense, the best way to check,” Hynes said.
(Photo: Terrence Lee / Imagn Images)
