Zucker pushes Wild past Jets
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Jason Zucker scored the winning goal with just over two minutes to play as the Minnesota Wild skated away with a 6-5 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night at the MTS Centre.
The Jets entered the final period trailing 5-3 but mounted a major push.
Joel Armia scored a goofy goal midway through the period, as his shot went over the net, off the glass and deflected off Minnesota goalie Darcy Kuemper's back and into the net at 9:35.
Mark Scheifele then scored on a wicked wrister at 11:17 to make it a 5-5 game. That was the end of the night for Kuemper, who gave way to Devan Dubnyk.
Winnipeg had several chances to score late in the period, including a pair of power-play opportunities. However, the Wild stormed back with the game-winner at 17:50 just as overtime seemed imminent.
Dubnyk stopped all seven shots he faced for the win. Kuemper made 24 saves before exiting.
Mikael Granlund had a goal and two assists for the Wild, a stat line matched by the Jets' Mathieu Perreault and Scheifele.
Michael Hutchinson stopped six of seven shots in relief of Jets starting goalie Connor Hellebucyk, who was beaten five times on 21 shots.
Minnesota (41-14-6) leads the Central Division and the Western Conference.
Winnipeg (28-30-6) is fighting to stay in the playoff chase. The Jets sit five points back of the final wild-card spot, currently held by the St. Louis Blues, and have just 18 games left in their season.
Winnipeg was coming off its league-mandated bye and playing for the first time in a week. However, if there were any signs of rust, Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine certainly didn't show it. The pair needed just 62 seconds to open the scoring, as Scheifele fed Laine in the slot for his 31st goal of the season.
However, Minnesota soon began to take over the game. First, the red-hot Granlund snuck in behind the Jets defense and got a breakaway pass, making no mistake on the deke for his 21st goal of the year at 3:02 of the opening period.
At 14:19 of the first, Granlund made a ridiculous pass from his knees into the slot, where teammate Tyler Graovac made no mistake to give the Wild a 2-1 lead.
Paul Postma then was sent to the penalty box with a five-minute boarding major after a big hit against Minnesota defenseman Ryan Suter. The Wild then capitalized near the end of the power play as Erik Haula banked a shot in off Hellebuyck to make it as 3-1 lead after the first period.
Minnesota extended the lead at 8:03 of the second period as Marco Scandella's seeing-eye shot from the blue line somehow beat Hellebuyck.
Winnipeg got one back at 9:32 as Adam Lowry crashed the net and jammed a puck past Kuemper.
The Wild then restored their three-goal lead -- and chased Hellebuyck from the game -- when Ryan White scored on a wrist shot. It was the second goal in as many games for White, who joined Minnesota in a trade last week.
The Jets then scored again late in the middle frame, with Perreault firing home a shot from the slot at 17:37, boosting Minnesota's lead to 5-3.
The Jets continue a six-game homestand by hosting the Blues on Friday. Minnesota continues its road trip by playing on Thursday night in Columbus.
NOTES: With Winnipeg's loss, NHL teams are now just 8-15-4 in their first game back after the bye week. Minnesota is one of the few teams to enjoy success, as the Wild won 5-4 in their return to action on Monday night against Los Angeles. ... Wild C Tyler Graovac has now done what very few professional hockey players ever do -- play games on four consecutive nights. Graovac suited up for the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League on Saturday and Sunday, then joined Minnesota for its games Monday and Tuesday. ... Winnipeg is 14-8-1 against its Central Division rivals this year. However, four of those eight regulation losses came at the hands of the Wild. ... Minnesota has 88 points on the season -- one more than its 82-game total from last season. The Wild still have 21 games left this season. ... Winnipeg scratches on Tuesday were D Jacob Trouba (serving final game of two-game suspension), D Julian Melchiori and F Andrew Copp. Minnesota was without F Zach Parise (mumps), F Jason Pominville (mumps) and D Nate Prosser.