Game Recap: Winnipeg Jets Beat the Minnesota Wild in Pre-Season Opener
Minnesota’s young guns put on a strong showing tonight, but it wasn’t enough, as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Minnesota Wild, 2-1.
Good evening from just outside Minneapolis, Wild fans. Despite a late rally including a Patrick Roy-esque empty net, the Wild were unable to complete a comeback, losing to a Jets squad that featured far more starters. Here are my thoughts, some stats, and our GPW three stars of the game.
First period thoughts:
The Wild came out with wheels on tonight, out-playing the Jets through the first period. The top line of Jason Zucker–Charlie Coyle– Nino Niederreiter seemed to gel together in to a cohesive, speedy group. Niederreiter logged the first shot of the game on a revitalized Ondrej Pavelec 23 seconds in to the game. I thought Christian Folin also looked very good through the first period, playing a clean game. Now, if only that could be said for the rest of the players on the ice; with 26 total minutes of penalties handed out to both teams in the first period alone, although neither team was able to connect with the man advantage in the first. Stu Bickel, dropped the gloves with
Sep 22, 2014; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets forward Chris Thorburn (22) fights Minnesota Wild defenseman Stu Bickel (4) during the first period at the MTS Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports
Winnipeg’s Chris Thorburn 10 minutes in to the frame. I loved Bickel’s toughness and he certainly played like he wanted to join the 23-man roster come October. Through the first 20 minutes, the Wild and Jets were even on shots at 10-a-side and headed to the locker room scoreless.
Second Period thoughts:
A very chippy second period. Bickel dropped the gloves again early in the second, this time with Anthony Peluso, who waved to the sold-out crowd with a flourish while being escorted to the penalty box.
Christian Folin made a beautiful save on a Dustin Byfuglien breakaway, matching him stride for stride and forcing the big winger to the outside in a 1-on-1 play through the offensive zone.
Michael Hutchinson replaced Ondrej Pavelec, who was a perfect 14/14 through the first 30 minutes of the game. On the other side of the ice, the charismatic Ilya Bryzgalov replaced Niklas Backstrom, who was also perfect, stopping all 12 shots he faced.
More from Wild News
- Defenseman Matt Dumba signs one-year contract with Arizona
- Minnesota Wild reach agreement with Brandon Duhaime on one-year contract
- Minnesota Wild receive mixed grades for picks in NHL Entry Draft
- Minnesota Wild draft heavy on centers and home-state selections
- Minnesota Wild open regular season at home against Stanley Cup Finalist
Later in the first, after Justin Falk took a minor penalty for interference, Winnipeg opened the scoring. Minnesota-native Dustin Byfuglien took a great pass from Tobias Enstrom and blasted a one-timer from the blue line that beat Bryzgalov high on his glove side, Putting the Jets up 1-0 at 14:15 of the second.
The Wild would finish the second frame on nearly consecutive power plays, with some very good scoring chances by Niederreiter.
With the Jets up 1-0, the Wild finished the second period with 10 shots for a 2 period total of 20. The Jets added 6 shots for a two period total of 16
Third Period Thoughts:
Jets Veteran center Bryan Little scored off his own rebound 4:27 seconds in to the 3rd to put the Jets up 2-0. Andrew Ladd, who assisted on Byfuglien’s goal in the second earned his second assist of the night. Fatigue seemed to hit the Wild, who let the Jets control much of the pace through the Third. Despite some close looks by Charlie Coyle, including a few shots that rang off the post, the Wild were unable to convert through the first 18 minutes.
Yeo pulled Bryzgalov with just less than 3 minutes remaining, which nearly led to a Michael Frolik empty net goal. Despite the goal entering the net, it was waved off by the officials after Frolik roughed Folin en route to the offensive zone. This also led to the Wild’s 6th power play of the night, which they were again unable to convert on.
With just 14 seconds left, Tyler Graovac bounced a shot off Michael Hutchinson’s right shoulder and in to the goal from just outside the crease, pulling the Wild to within a goal, 2-1 Jets. The Wild would lose the following face off but control the puck through the neutral zone and launch one last attack. Coyle, who looked great all night, snapped one final shot towards Hutchinson, who turned it away. The Jets punctuated the loss with a zone clearing shot that rolled in to the goal just after time expired. Jets win 2-1. Final Shot totals: Wild 27, Jets 18.
Live Feed
Jets White Out
My Wild 3-Stars
1. Charlie Coyle: Coyle looked great all night. He finished 10 for 17 in the Faceoff dot, despite being matched up with Bryan Little for much of the game. He led all Wild forwards in time on ice with 22:49 and only took one minor penalty. His 3 shots on goal were second only to Nino Niederreiter who registered 5.
2. Christian Folin: Folin looked very good and I’m sure only helped his chances at earning the 6th defenseman spot. Logging 25:58 seconds of ice time, he looked solid on the power play and made some great defensive plays to keep the game tight.
3. Jason Zucker: Two shots on goal, one assist, and one very solid hit early in the first period. Add this to a +1 rating and 21:28 of ice time and I feel like we’re looking at a revitalized Zucker here. Like Folin, he helped improve his image to the coaches after a pretty solid camp so far. Graovac’s goal came almost exclusively off of Zucker’s speedy game, especially in transition leading to that play.
Who was your star of the game? let us know in the comments below!