*Photo from Sportsnet*
This team is taking off right now. Dominic Toninato had an assist, Nino Niederreiter scored twice, and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Minnesota Wild with a 4-2 victory on Saturday afternoon in Winnipeg.
With the win, the Jets increased their point streak to 7 games, with a 5-0-2 record in that span. They've also gone 7-1-2 in their last 10 games as they sit at 21-9-4 and second place in the Central Division. 9 different skaters registered a point for the Jets.
Niederreiter said of the win that "We know we have to play that style of hockey, and that’s how I feel we play best. Coming out of the gates, we want to make sure we get pucks in deep and outwork them, but at the same time, we did a lot of good things and tried to help get our team get that win."
It was the Jets who got on the scoreboard first. Alex Iafallo got it done 3:59 into the game, giving the Jets a 1-0 lead on his 6th goal of the season, with the lone assist going to Vladislav Namestnikov. Later in the period, Niederreiter scored his 11th goal of the season to double the lead to 2-0, with Adam Lowry getting the assist.
Winnipeg built on their lead in the second period. It was Niederreiter who did it, extending the lead to 3-0 on his second goal of the night, assisted by Mason Appleton and Josh Morrissey. With the Wild on the power play 10:05 into the second period, Ryan Hartman scored to end the shutout bid on his 11th goal of the season.
Early in the 3rd period, the Wild got closer. Matt Boldy found the back of the net for the 11th time this season, with the lone assist going to Kirill Kaprizov 20 seconds into the 3rd to make it a 3-2 game. 2:46 into the 3rd, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby scored his second goal of the season, assisted by Toninato and Morgan Barron to make it 4-2 Jets.
Jets head coach Rick Bowness said after the game that "We talk a lot about timely saves and timely goals. We got both today. Hellebuyck made a lot of timely saves, and that timely goal, the fourth, was huge for us. Our 5-on-5 game has really been good all year. Regardless who we play, that’s how we play. That grinding style is how we’re going to play our 5-on-5 game."
Getting the start for the Jets was once again Connor Hellebuyck. In a winning performance, Hellebuyck stopped 34 of the 36 shots the Wild sent his way, giving him a .944 save percentage. The win improves his record to 17-6-3.
In net for the Wild was Filip Gustavsson, who wasn't able to finish the game. Gustavsson made 19 saves on 22 shots before leaving after two periods with a lower body injury. Marc-Andre Fleury came on in the 3rd for his 999th career appearance and stopped 9 of 10 shots from the Jets.
Wild head coach John Hynes said of the loss that "We fell back at times, but we weren’t at our best tonight. When you come into a series, we’re going to have to bring our best to win. Tonight I thought there were times where we had it, but we didn’t have it like we normally do, and that’s our objective tomorrow."
The teams match up again on Sunday afternoon in Minnesota to complete a home and home set. Laurent Brossoit starts for the Jets, while Fleury starts for the Wild as becomes the 4th goalie to appear in 1,000 games.
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