WINNIPEG, Manitoba _ As threadbare as the Wild roster may be, coach Bruce Boudreau doesn't believe that should have any impact on its ability to play effectively in its own zone. "No matter who's in the lineup, you can play defense," he said.
The question remained, though, whether the Wild would actually follow through with a better defensive effort Friday at Winnipeg. After spotting the Jets a 2-0 lead by leaving two players wide open, the Wild scored three consecutive goals _ but the Jets got the final word, scoring twice in the final 21 minutes to lock up a 4-3 victory at Bell MTS Place.
Winnipeg tied it 3-3 on a power play with 32.7 seconds remaining in the second period, then Blake Wheeler scored at 13:14 of the third when the Wild could not corral the puck in the neutral zone. The Jets' Kyle Connor gained control and fed Wheeler, who got past Matt Dumba and cut to the net.
The Wild got goals from Chris Stewart, Mikko Koivu and Mike Reilly. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk stopped 26 shots.
Before the game, Boudreau noted that the Wild typically have been known more for their defense than their scoring. The team spent much of its three practices last week working on tightening a defense that had held only one of four opponents to fewer than four goals.
"It's something we've been talking about a lot," Boudreau said. "I think they do take pride in it, but when you get three out of four games with four goals against, it's tough."
Whatever lessons were learned last week weren't evident in the first period. Against the Jets' fast-skating, high-scoring offense, the Wild twice left players wide open in the first period to fall into a 2-0 hole.
Laine struck first on a slapshot from the left circle on a power play. With Koivu in the penalty box for cross-checking Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler carried the puck down the right boards; as the Wild paid attention to him, Laine sneaked into the left circle without anyone picking him up. Wheeler delivered the puck to him for a booming shot and a 1-0 Jets lead at 8:07.
Dumba left Ehlers untended to help the Jets double the lead a little less than two minutes later. After Jonas Brodin lost control of the puck in the right corner of the Wild zone, Toby Enstrom carried it behind the goal line and fired a pass to Ehlers, who was all alone in front of the net and tucked the puck just under the crossbar at 9:49.
The Jason Zucker-Koivu-Stewart line, strong throughout the game, picked up the pace late in the period and started the Wild's three-goal rally. After Stewart crushed Josh Morrissey into the boards behind the Winnipeg goal, he darted into the slot. Zucker slid the puck to him, and he lifted a backhand past Connor Hellebuyck with 53 seconds remaining in the period.
The line scored again at 10:51 of the second period to tie the score 2-2. Zucker snared a puck that the Jets overskated, then started a rush with Koivu that ended with Koivu's third goal of the season.
Reilly scored from the right point on a power play at 15:39 to give the Wild their first lead of the game. But a slashing penalty on Kyle Quincey gave the Jets a power play to end the second period _ and Laine's shot from the left point was deflected past Dubnyk with 32.7 seconds left.
The Jets had a Mark Scheifele goal waved off at 8:42 of the third, when it was ruled that Wheeler interfered with Dubnyk.
