Late heroics lift Wild past Jets in overtime – Twin Cities

On one of their longest travel days of the season, the Minnesota Wild found just enough late fuel to pull out an unlikely win.

Matt Boldy scored his second goal of the game 39 seconds into overtime as the Minnesota Wild rallied, twice, on the road, finding a way to a 4-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in their first game back from the holiday break.

With set-up passes from Kirill Kaprizov and Quinn Hughes, Boldy ripped a shot past Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck after Minnesota forced overtime in the final half-minute of regulation with an extra-attacker goal.

Boldy, Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello scored in regulation for the Wild, who got back on the winning track after losing twice — once in overtime — before Christmas. They got a 23-save effort from Jesper Wallstedt, who is now 11-2-2 this season. His workload included a game-saving stop in the opening minute of overtime.

“We knew we were coming in here after losing the last two games off the break,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “We knew this is a big stretch of games, a big trip. I give the guys a lot of credit. By the NHL schedule, it’s a tough day to get through, but I think we did a really good job of sticking with it and overcoming some adversity at the end of the second period.”

Boldy now has 24 goals, which is one better than Kaprizov for the team lead.

Outshooting Winnipeg early, the Wild briefly found themselves trailing when Gustav Nyquist split the Minnesota defense and snapped a wrist shot past Wallstedt. The Wild coaches immediately challenged the play for offside and, after a brief review, the goal came off the board when it was determined that Nino Niederreiter had entered the offensive zone prematurely.

Minnesota is now a perfect 4 for 4 on challenges this season.

The reprieve was short-lived. Just a few shifts later, Josh Morrissey’s slap shot from the high slot sailed past the goalie to give Winnipeg the early lead.

Both teams went down a defenseman on the next shift, as Minnesota’s Jake Middleton dropped the gloves with Winnipeg big man Logan Stanley, with both getting a five-minute timeout.

With 91 seconds left in the first, and Boldy under heavy duress from Jets defenseman Luke Schenn at the top of the crease, a Jared Spurgeon shot deflected off Boldy and in, helping the Wild forge a tie after the opening period, despite being outshot 10-5.

“It was a great play by Jared. He’s so good at finding lanes and giving you shots that are very typical,” Boldy said. “It wasn’t a designed play or anything, it’s trying to get to the net. Hellebuyck is so good. So, the more you’re there, the better chances you get because he makes a lot of saves.”

Kaprizov tied Boldy for the goals lead in the second period, walking around a Winnipeg defender and popping in a backhand shot to give the Wild their first lead. But the final few minutes of the middle frame were disastrous for Minnesota. First, the Jets tied the game, then Spurgeon left the rink after taking a high stick to the face.

With less than three seconds to play before the second intermission, a lost defensive zone faceoff and a quick wrist shot past Wallstedt sent the Jets to the dressing room with a 3-2 lead.

“Obviously, at the end of the second, we kind of made some small mistakes and they ended up capitalizing on their chances,” said Wallstedt, now 5-1-1 on the road this season. “But I thought the game overall was tight throughout and at the end there, we knew maybe we had an extra level, and we put that in, and I thought we created a lot and obviously capitalized at the end there.”

After Spurgeon returned and the Wild juggled their top two lines to start the third, they got a late power play. They tested the Jets’ net but could not get a third puck over the line until the final half-minute of regulation.

Another Jets penalty and Wallstedt heading to the bench for an extra attacker gave the Wild a 6-on-4 advantage, and Zuccarello forced overtime with his third goal of the season.

“That’s what we need,” Hynes said. “We’re going to spend a lot of time together and six more games on the trip. So, to start off with a good win in the fashion that it was, hopefully, should set us up moving forward here.”

Hellebuyck finished with 15 saves for Winnipeg. Minnesota is 2-0-1 now versus the Jets this season. They will play once more in the regular season, with the Jets visiting Grand Casino Arena on Jan. 15.

“You know what, that was a hell of an effort by our hockey team. It really was,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said. “What is it, second-hottest team in the league since November 1st? That was a hell of a hockey game by us. And I thought that we did everything we possibly could to win that hockey game.”

The Wild’s season-long, seven-game road trip continues Monday night when they visit the Vegas Golden Knights for the first time this season. The game is a 9 p.m. Central start. Minnesota notched a 3-2 overtime win over the Knights in mid-November in St. Paul.