The Minnesota Wild (30-12-3) faced yet another tough task up north in Winnipeg on Wednesday and the Jets had the Wild’s number again, defeating our home state team 6-3.
Led by Mark Scheifele and his made-easy hat trick, the Jets (21-18-8) continued their hold over a Wild team that just couldn’t find the back of the net.
Cam Talbot returned between the pipes last night giving Kaapo Kahkonen a day off, and made 25 saves out of 30 shot attempts (one ENG for the Jets). While this certainly is disappointing, he didn’t have much help from the skaters in front of him.
Horrific passes here and there, lazy turnovers, slow skating, it was sometimes hard to watch.
Cole Perfetti sends Kyle Connor into the zone with speed, who beats Talbot five-hole on the breakaway to restore Winnipeg's three-goal lead!#GoJetsGo pic.twitter.com/4Nkw2sUQE2
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) February 17, 2022
While much of last night was a disaster, it was nice having forward Marcus Foligno return to the ice following a quick two-game suspension, which coincidentally occurred last week in Winnipeg. Many fans texpected a physical game throughout that would certainly ignite firework. But that simply wasn’t the case.
For the Wild Joel Eriksson Ek, Mats Zuccarello and Dmitry Kulikov notched our three goals with point leader Kirill Kaprizov (59) continuing his hot play with two assists.
Some good, a lot of bad, it was a frustrating night.
The Wild will have to regroup, learn, and get their minds straight for Friday’s much-anticipated matchup against a red-hot Florida Panthers team that continues to be on the prowl.
Time to get back to work and respond on Friday in front of our fans. #mnwild pic.twitter.com/sCDt1cJJTn
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 17, 2022
It’s not quite known who will be in net for the Wild, as both goaltenders have been hot as of late, but the Wild will be ready.
Friday’s matchup is going to be high-energy andcould very well be a potential Stanley Cup Final.
Expect an entirely different type of play opposed to lthe rough loss in Winnipeg. Expect a playoff atmosphere much like the one against Carolina last weekend. Also expect a Minnesota Wild team that continues to show the league they deserve consideration as one of the league’s best teams.
Puck drop is 7 p.m. CST on Friday.
. It’s going to be a fun one!