Dean Evason was asked after Wednesday's morning skate in Winnipeg if the Wild faced any extra challenges because they were playing the Jets on the second night of back-to-back situation.
"There should be none,'' the Wild coach said, expecting a fast start from his team. "It's just hockey. We saw a team last night, Calgary, that played back-to-back, and they beat us. We've been in these situations before.''
The fast start didn't come, but the Wild still emerged victorious and moved into a first-place tie with Dallas in the Central Division, thanks in large part to the Flower and the Moose.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 46 saves, including 15 in the first period as the Wild tried to find energy, and Marcus Foligno had a goal and an assist, leading Minnesota to a 4-2 victory over the Jets. Freddy Gaudreau, Ryan Hartman and Mason Shaw also scored for the Wild, who improved to 9-0-2 in its 11-game point streak.
The Wild and Dallas each have 81 points, though the Stars have played one fewer game than Minnesota.
The victory, though, might carry a price. In the third period, Jets defenseman Logan Stanley collided with Kirill Kaprizov and collapsed his weight down on the Wild star. No penalty was called, and Kaprizov's right leg appeared to bend awkwardly. He took a few moments to gather himself, but eventually skated gingerly to the bench. He did not play the rest of the game, and his status was not immediately known.
Winnipeg, which outshot the Wild 48-22, got goals from Stanley and Nino Niederreiter. Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves
The Wild didn't get their first shot on goal until 8:48 expired and were outshot 15-5 and out-attempted 24-9 in the first period.
Still, they led 1-0 on Foligno's second goal in three games. Oskar Sundqvist sent a backhand saucer pass over a Jets defender's stick and to Foligno in the high slot. Foligno blasted a shot over the right shoulder of goalie Connor Hellebuyck at 14:14.
Fleury's work earlier in the period kept the game scoreless. The veteran denied Josh Morrissey and Kyle Connor with sprawling saves on backhand attempts just outside of the crease at 10:54 of the first.
Minnesota got its first power play 43 seconds into the second period when Dylan DeMelo was whistled for interference. The Wild mustered only one shot on goal during the advantage. Shortly after, Fleury made two big saves on Adam Lowry as the Jets pressured.
The Wild increased the lead to 2-0 at 7:06 when Gaudreau took a pass from Foligno and beat Hellebuyck on a short rush, but the Jets answered 30 seconds later when Stanley put a rebound past Fleury.
Minnesota quickly restored the two-goal lead at 8:31 when Hartman's shot trickled through Hellebuyck's pads to make it 3-1.
Niederreiter cut the Wild lead to 3-2 at 17:15 of the second when he gloved a puck out of mid-air and off Hartman's back, gathered it in front of the net and fired it past Fleury for his 20th goal of the season.
At 10:29 of the third, Winnipeg went on a power play when Alex Goligoski was called for tripping. The Wild's penalty killers limited the Jets to one shot on goal.
Fleury denied Niederreiter on a two-on-one rush with 6:45 left in the third.
The Jets pulled Hellebuyck with 1:30 left. Shaw scored empty-netter after a turnover by center Mark Schiefele.
Notes
— Hartman was fined $4,594, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for slashing Calgary defenseman Rasmus Andersson during Tuesday's game in St. Paul.
— Evason said defenseman Jonas Brodin (lower body injury) and forward Brandon Duhaime (upper body) have not resumed skating. Recently acquired Gustav Nyquist (shoulder) has not skated but is with the team on its four-game road trip to become acclimated with his teammates.
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The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.
