WINNIPEG — Cole Perfetti and Morgan Barron knew it was time the Winnipeg Jets stopped coming slow out of the gate.
The team accomplished that with a pair of first-period goals on its way to a 5-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
“We knew they were on a back-to-back and they were obviously going to be a little tired,” said Perfetti, who had a goal and two assists. “We wanted to have a good start. We haven’t had that as of late.
“Our first period was huge, and we really wanted to take them out of the game. And I think we did that. We really didn’t give them anything. Hard on the puck, hard on the forecheck. We really suffocated them all over the ice, and then got a couple goals and really take them out of it.”
Minnesota, which lost 2-1 at home to the Utah Hockey Club on Friday, is now on a four-game losing skid after recording its first shutout of the season.
Nikolaj Ehlers and Neal Pionk each scored a power-play goal in front of a capacity crowd at Canada Life Centre. Pionk added an assist.
Barron and Vladislav Namestnikov also scored for the Jets (24-10-1), who are 4-1-1 in their last six games.
Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves for his NHL-leading fourth shutout of the season and 41st of his career. He also tops his counterparts in net with 21 wins.
Jesper Wallstedt stopped 19 shots for Minnesota, which is 1-5-0 in its last five games and five points behind the Jets for first place in the Central Division.
“The emphasis was kind of (on) the start and, obviously, that was a much better start,” Barron said. “Those last few starts we’ve had haven’t been good enough.
“The shot clock shows you that, but also just the play and watching the film. Special teams was a big part of it and also, the start were the two big points of emphasis.”
The Jets went 2-for-5 on the power play and are now 11-for-28 in the past seven games.
Minnesota was 0-for-4 and only had a total of five shots during the man advantage.
“I thought we went a little bit off script and made plays and went east-west and passed up shots,” Wild head coach John Hynes said.
“To me, that’s the bigger thing. It’s more the process of the game than it is anything about the mindset.”
Ehlers scored his 10th goal of the season six seconds after Minnesota took its first penalty at 6:45 of the first period.
Barron made it 2-0 with 2:06 left in the period when he banged in a puck that had gone behind Wallstedt after an Alex Iafallo shot.
Pionk’s one-timer from the point beat Wallstedt 14 seconds into the man advantage to make it 3-0 at 5:19.
A Minnesota turnover gave Perfetti the puck in the slot and he fired it by Wallstedt at 2:07 of the third.
Seven seconds after a Winnipeg power play ended, Namestnikov tipped in a Pionk shot to go up 5-0 at 7:36.
“It goes to show you our depth,” Perfetti said of the goals from the second and fourth lines. “That’s when we’re at our best, when all four lines are playing like that and able to contribute, top to bottom, defensively and on offence."
Jets head coach Scott Arniel agreed it was close to a complete game.
“I wouldn’t say (in) quite some time, but I would say it’s probably one of our better efforts in the last few games here,” he said.
Jets captain Adam Lowry left the game in the third period, but Arniel said he was just banged up and should be able to play Monday in Toronto when Winnipeg takes on the Maple Leafs.
NOTES: The victory was Winnipeg’s eighth consecutive against Minnesota. … Hellebuyck passed John Vanbiesbrouck and Frank Brimsek for fourth-most shutouts by an American goaltender (41).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2024.
Judy Owen, The Canadian Press