Wild at Jets
The Minnesota Wild enter Game 2 of their first-round playoff series Friday at the Winnipeg Jets looking to shore up their defense, after two costly turnovers led to third-period goals in a 3-2 loss in Wednesday’s opener. The task of slowing down one of the NHL’s top offenses already was difficult with defenseman Ryan Suter out for the playoffs due to a leg injury, but Minnesota’s shaky play in its defensive zone did not help its chances in Game 1.
In the words of 41-year-old center Matt Cullen, who helped Pittsburgh win the past two Stanley Cups and netted the Wild’s first goal Wednesday: “I think we view this as a missed opportunity. I don’t think we played as well as we can. I think we showed pieces of our game, but I don’t think we played to our level to be honest with you.” On the other hand, Winnipeg played with the poise of a playoff veteran in earning the first postseason victory in franchise history, getting the game-winning tally from defenseman Joe Morrow with 7:13 to play. Winnipeg kept its cool after Cullen and Zach Parise scored early in the third to put the Wild ahead 2-1, getting a Patrik Laine goal off a turnover just 53 seconds later to even the score. “Nothing changed on the bench,” Jets coach Paul Maurice told the media in describing his team’s demeanor after falling behind. “The next guys over the boards had a job to do and then they did it, and very quickly we got that game back to tied.”
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, USA, TVA2, Sportsnet (Winnipeg), FS North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE WILD: Goaltender Devan Dubnyk was outstanding in making 37 saves, stopping several high-quality chances, but faced steady pressure in the first period (13 shots) and third period (19 shots). Minnesota outshot the Jets 12-8 in the second period as the Wild found some rhythm offensively, but did little after Parise scored while going 12 minutes without a shot on net. Forward Jordan Greenway, who played in six regular-season games after leaving Boston University, assisted on Cullen’s goal and finished plus-1 in 11:54 of ice time.
ABOUT THE JETS: Winnipeg’s power play, fifth-best in the NHL during the regular season, cashed in with a Mark Scheifele goal late in the second period to open the scoring. While not challenged nearly as often as Dubnyk, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck played steady in making 18 saves in his first postseason contest and benefited from a strong game by the Jets defense. Defenseman Ben Chiarot finished with 10 hits and defenseman Jacob Trouba blocked five shots, while fourth-line center Adam Lowry - selected as the first star - won 69.2 percent of his faceoffs, including three in a row in the final seconds.
OVERTIME
1. Cullen scored his 19th career playoff goal in his 124th postseason game.
2. Jets F Mathieu Perreault, who left Game 1 with an upper-body injury, will be a game-time decision for Game 2.
3. Game 1 was relatively clean with only three penalties issued.