Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 27 shots he saw for his third shutout of the season and the 27th of his career, allowing the Winnipeg Jets to notch a 2-0 win over the visiting Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.
Hellebuyck turned aside six shots in the first period, 11 in the second and 10 in the third to improve to 15-15-6 on the season. Winnipeg won for only the second time in its past nine games (2-5-2).
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Minnesota, which also had its 10-game point streak (9-0-1) come to an end. The Wild were shut out for the first time this season.
Mark Scheifele scored a power-play goal for the Jets. Nate Schmidt added an empty-net goal late in the third period.
Minnesota goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen kept his team in the game, stopping 27 of 28 shots. He dropped to 10-3-2 with his first regulation-time loss since Dec. 11.
The Jets opened the scoring on the power play with 11:03 remaining in the first period. Kyle Connor slid a pass across the slot to Scheifele, who blasted a one-timer above Kahkonen’s right shoulder.
It was the 11th goal of the season for Scheifele, who snapped a six-game drought with his first marker since Jan. 20.
The Wild pulled Kahkonen for an extra attacker in the final minutes, but Winnipeg held strong. Schmidt took advantage of the empty net when he fired a shot from just behind center ice with 1:11 to go.
Emotions ran high during the game, which featured three fights, including two between the Wild’s Marcus Foligno and the Jets’ Adam Lowry. Foligno appeared to knee Lowry while he was on the ice after the second skirmish, which could prompt a review from the league.
Kirill Kaprizov led the Wild with seven shots on goal.
Andrew Copp had five shots on goal to lead Winnipeg.
–Field Level Media
