Jets at Wild
At least the Minnesota Wild earned a point Monday despite another morbid performance from their offense, which looks to get on track Wednesday when the struggling Winnipeg Jets come to Minneapolis. The Wild rallied from a pair of one-goal deficits before succumbing 3-2 in overtime at Dallas on Monday and having scored five goals in the past four games, the frustration is building in Minnesota’s locker room.
“It looked like we were skating in quicksand there for a while,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters after Monday’s game, in which he shook up all four lines but saw another strong effort by Minnesota’s defense wasted. The Jets, who finished a brutal stretch of 17 games in 29 days with Sunday’s 3-1 loss at Carolina, have been outscored 12-4 during their three-game slide. “They’re beat up, they’re sore, they’re tired and they gave what they had,” Jets coach Paul Maurice told reporters after Sunday’s defeat. The schedule and injuries to seven players has tested Winnipeg’s depth, and the Jets have two games remaining on a season-long five-game road trip.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet (Winnipeg), FSN North, FSN Wisconsin (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE JETS (9-10-2): Two days off came at a great time for Winnipeg, which is 0-for-9 on the power play in its last four contests and mustered only 12 shots in an ugly 4-1 loss Saturday at Boston. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck rebounded from a subpar effort Thursday against Philadelphia to record 37 saves against the Hurricanes, but a couple ill-timed Winnipeg penalties resulted in power-play goals. Center Mark Scheifele, among the NHL leaders in goals (11) and points (23), netted Winnipeg's goal Sunday and has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in his past 10 games.
ABOUT THE WILD (9-7-2): Minnesota came into Tuesday leading the NHL with a 1.94 goals-against average and No. 1 goaltender Devan Dubnyk has been outstanding, posting a 1.59 GAA and a .949 save percentage with four shutouts. Forward Zach Parise has only six points in 11 games, but played 17 minutes Monday after missing Saturday’s loss at Colorado with an illness. Center Mikko Koivu earned his 400th career assist on Nino Niederreiter’s second-period goal Monday, but the Wild have scored 14 goals in nine games this month.
OVERTIME
1. Jets F Drew Stafford (upper-body injury) skated with the third line at Tuesday’s practice, while F Kyle Connor (upper body) and C Bryan Little (lower body) skated with non-contact jerseys.
2. Minnesota D Marco Scandella, out since Oct. 27 (right knee), practiced Tuesday and is eligible to come off injured reserve Wednesday.
3. The Wild rallied from a 2-0 deficit with three second-period goals to beat the Jets 4-3 on Oct. 15, getting the go-ahead score from Eric Staal.