Friday, March 29, 2024
5-Hour Energy

NHL Preview: Minnesota Wild (36-21-7) at Winnipeg Jets (36-25-3)

MINNESOTA WILD NOTES:

SERIES NOTES
GAME BROADCASTS
WINNIPEG JETS
All-Time Wild Record: 28-17-5 (17-6-3 at Xcel Energy Center, 11-11-2 at Winnipeg)

2022-23: Minnesota is 2-0-0 in the season series with Winnipeg… The Wild won the first game, 6-1, at Xcel Energy Center (11/23) and the second game, 4-1, at Canada Life Centre (12/27)…LW Matt Boldy (1-3=4) leads Minnesota with four points in the series…LW Kirill Kaprizov (1-2=3) and RW Mats Zuccarello (1-2=3) each have three points…G Filip Gustavsson is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .957 SV% in two starts, stopping 59-of-61 shots faced…LW Kyle Connor (1-1=2) and D Josh Morrissey (0-2=2) lead the Jets with two points each…LW Pierre-Luc Dubois also has an assist…G Connor Hellebuck is 0-2-0 with a 4.52 GAA and .864 SV% in two starts for Winnipeg.

WILD LEADERS: D John Klingberg leads the Wild with 25 points (5-20=25) in 29 games against Winnipeg…LW Marcus Johansson has 22 points (5-17=22) in 30 contests…Zuccarello has 20 points (11-9=20) in 23 meetings…LW Marcus Foligno has 18 points (9-9=18) in 28 games.

WILD GOALIES: G Marc-Andre Fleury is 22-10-0 with a 2.59 GAA, a .909 SV% and one shutout in 32 career games (31 starts) against the Jets…G Filip Gustavsson is 4-0-0 with a 1.25 GAA and a .958 SV% in four starts.

JETS LEADERS: RW Blake Wheeler leads Winnipeg with 40 points (14-26=40) in 42 games vs. Minnesota…C Mark Scheifele has 30 points (12-18=30) in 35 contests…RW Sam Gagner owns 20 points (4-16=20) in 47 matches…Connor owns 18 points (7-11=18) in 19 games.

JETS GOALIES: Hellebuyck is 9-9-2 with a 2.84 GAA, a .911 SV% and three shutouts in 23 games (22 starts) against the Wild…G David Rittich is 3-0-1 with a 2.89 GAA and a .917 SV% in four starts.

FAST FACTS: Minnesota is 11-4-0 in its last 15 games with Winnipeg…The Wild is 8-2-0 in the last 10 contests at Xcel Energy Center…Minnesota’s sweep of the Jets in 2018-19 (5-0-0) marked the third time in franchise history Minnesota swept a season series of more than four games: 5-0-0 vs. Chicago (2015-16) and 6-0-0 vs. Edmonton (2010-11)…The Wild fell, 4-1, in its first-ever postseason meeting against the Jets in the 2018 First Round.

INJURIES
Brandon Duhaime: upper body
Jonas Brodin: lower body
Gustav Nyquist: upper body

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
3/6/23 Signed D David Spacek to a three-year, entry-level contract
3/3/23 Acquired a second-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft and a fifth-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for LW Jordan Greenway. Buffalo previously acquired the 2023 second-round selection from the Vegas Golden Knights
3/3/23 Acquired C Oskar Sundqvist from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a fourth-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft
3/3/23 Acquired D John Klingberg from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for D Andrej Sustr, the rights to F Nikita Nesterenko and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Anaheim retained 50% of Klingberg’s salary
3/3/23 Reassigned D Dakota Mermis to Iowa

FINDING THEIR GROOVE
• Minnesota is first in the NHL with 21 points since Feb. 11 (9-1-3).

• The Wild’s current 10-game point streak (8-0-2) is the team’s longest of the season and tied for the third-longest in franchise history

• Since Feb. 11, the Wild leads the NHL with a .954 team save percentage and has allowed a league-low 1.31 goals against per game.

ON THE POWER PLAY
• The Wild has converted 27.2 percent (28 of 103) of power-play opportunities at home this season, fifth-best in the NHL.

• Since Jan. 19, Minnesota ranks tied for fifth in the NHL with 13 powerplay goals.

PENALTY KILLERS
• Had a streak of 27 consecutive successful penalty kills across 14 total games snapped by allowing a PPG to Vancouver (3/2). Did not allow a power-play goal in 12 consecutive games from 2/8 – 2/28, the longest streak in the NHL this season, tied for the longest streak in franchise history and tied for the 13th-longest streak in the NHL’s Expansion Era (since 1967-68 season)

• For the season, the Wild is eighth in the NHL with a 82.5 penalty-kill percentage (165 for 200).

• Since Nov. 8, Minnesota is fourth in the NHL with a 84.3 penalty-kill percentage (140 for 166).

• Minnesota is sixth in the NHL with a 82.5 penalty-kill percentage (85 of 103) on the road this season.

COOL UNDER PRESSURE
• Minnesota has 18 one-goal victories this season, fourth in the NHL behind Los Angeles (20), Vegas (20) and Carolina (20).

• Minnesota is 32-5-5 (.821) this season when obtaining a lead at any point in the game, the fourth-best point percentage in the NHL in such situations.

• Minnesota is 12-1-7 (.775) this season in games that were tied with five minutes left in regulation, tied for the third-most victories and the sixth-best point percentage in the NHL.

LOCK-DOWN DEFENSE
• Minnesota has conceded less than two goals in 24 total games this season, tied for most in the NHL. The Wild holds a 21-1-2 record when allowing less than two goals.

• In 37 games since Dec. 10, the Wild has posted a 2.16 GA/Gm average, the second-best mark in the NHL during that span.

WINNIPEG JETS NOTES:

Scene Setter
The Winnipeg Jets end the three-game homestand on Wednesday when they play the Minnesota Wild at Canada Life Centre for the second time this season. The Jets lost 3-2 in overtime to the San Jose Sharks on Monday to fall to 1-0-1 during the homestand. After Wednesday’s game, the Jets play eight of their next 10 games on the road, starting with a three-game road trip through Florida, Tampa and Carolina.

Tale of the Tape
WPG Stat MIN
64 GP 64
36 W 36
25 L 21
2 OT 7
75 PTS 79
199 GF 182
179 GA 169
21.0% PP 22.1%
83.5% PK 82.5%

Next Five Games
Date Opp TV Radio
Mar. 8 MIN SN CJOB/Power 97
Mar. 11 At FLA SN CJOB/Power 97
Mar. 12 At TBL TSN CJOB/Power 97
Mar. 14 At CAR TSN CJOB/Power 97
Mar. 16 BOS TSN CJOB/Power 97

Recent Five Games
Date Opp SC Res Streak
Feb. 26 NYI 4-0 L 3L
Feb. 28 LAK 6-5 SOL 4L
Mar. 3 At EDM 6-3 L 5L
Mar. 4 EDM 7-5 W 1W
Mar. 6 SJS 3-2 OTL 1L

Broadcast Information
TV: Sportsnet
Play-By-Play: John Bartlett
Analyst: Jamal Myers
Rinkside: Sean Reynolds
Radio: 680 CJOB/Power 97
Play-By-Play: Paul Edmonds
Analyst: Jamie Thomas
Host: Kelly Moore

Upcoming Schedule
Wednesday, March 8
Morning Skate 9:30 a.m.
Jets vs. Minnesota Wild 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 9
Practice – Canada Life Centre 9:00 a.m.
Friday, March 10
Practice – Panthers IceDen 11:00 a.m.
All Times Local

Last Game
San Jose Sharks 3 (OT)
Winnipeg Jets 2
Jets Scorers: Niederreiter (19), Schmidt (6)
Sharks Scorers: Lorentz (7), Hertl (17), Couture (22)
Jets Goaltender: David Rittich (21 sv, 3 ga)
Sharks Goaltender: James Reimer (36 sv, 2 ga)
Jets PP: 0-for-6
Jets PK: 2-for-2
Recap: Nate Schmidt scored at 14:53 of the third period to give the Jets their first lead of the game, but the Sharks tied it with 11 seconds left and Logan Couture won the game for San Jose 1:21 into overtime. Nino Niederreiter also scored for Winnipeg for his first goal with the Jets. Kyle Connor paced the Jets with six shots.

Tough Road Ahead
The Jets play four of their next five goals against teams that currently hold a playoff position… They have an average points percentage of .669… The handful games ends against the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins, who hold the top two positions in the NHL’s standings.

Positive Difference
The Jets hold an even or plus positive goal differential in each period this season… Winnipeg’s best period has been in the third with a plus-nine goal differential… The Jets also boast a plus-20 goal differential on home ice.

Central Rivals
The Jets are 14-5-0 against their Central Division counterparts this season, which is tops in the Central Division… Winnipeg has won nine of their past 12 games against Central Division teams… Winnipeg went 14-6-6 against their Central Division rivals last season and have a winning record in each of the past five seasons in which the Jets have been in the Central Division… Josh Morrissey (6G, 18A) leads the Jets in scoring against their divisional foes this season with 24 points in 19 games, while Blake Wheeler (9G, 13A) has 22 points in 18 games… Seven members of the Jets have at least 10 points against the Central Division this season, while Mason Appleton has seven points (2G, 5A) in seven games.

Home Comforts
The Jets are 21-10-2 at Canada Life Centre this season, which is tied for fifth in the NHL and first in the Western Conference… Kyle Connor (15G, 25A) and Josh Morrissey (13G, 27A) lead the team with 40 points in 33 home games… Mark Scheifele’s 19 goals at home leads the team and has him five goals behind his career high 24 goals he had at home during the 2018-19 season… Connor Hellebuyck has been stellar on home ice this season, going 17-8-1 with a 2.36 goals-against average, .924 save percentage and three shutouts… Winnipeg is 250-159-38 all-time at Canada Life Centre and have posted a .500 record or better at home in six consecutive seasons.

PK Prowess
Winnipeg is second in the NHL with a penalty kill successful 83.5% of the time… Winnipeg had to kill of a season high nine power plays on Friday in Edmonton… It was the first time since Oct. 11/18 at NSH that Winnipeg’s opponent had nine power plays in a game… The last time the Jets had a penalty kill better than 82% was in 2013-14 when they finished the season at 83.2%… The franchise record for penalty kill percentage in a season is 85.2%, which occurred in Atlanta during the 2003-04 season.

Jets vs. MIN Records
Overall Record
GP W L OT
50 21 24 5

Home Record
GP W L OT
24 13 10 1

Away Record
GP W L OT
26 8 14 4

Jets vs. MIN Notes
Season Series
Wednesday’s game is the third of four meetings between the Jets and Wild this season. The Jets lost 6-1 to the Wild in St. Paul on Nov. 23 and 4-1 in Winnipeg on Dec. 27. Winnipeg makes another trip to St. Paul on Apr. 11 for the last of the four games.

Recent History
The Jets are 4-3-2 in their past eight games against Minnesota, including winning the past two of the past four meetings.

In Winnipeg
Winnipeg had its three-game winning streak against the Wild at Canada Life Centre snapped on Dec. 27, but have still won six of the past nine games.

Player Notes
Blake Wheeler is averaging nearly a point per game against the Wild in his career with 40 points (14G, 26A) in 42 games. Five of Wheeler’s goals are game-winning goals… Mark Scheifele has 30 points (12G, 18A) in 35 career games against Minnesota. Six of his 12 goals have come on the power play… The only two players on Winnipeg’s roster with shootout attempts against Minnesota are Sam Gagner (2-for-5) and Blake Wheeler (1-for-3).

Jets vs. MIN Past 10 Games
Date Opp Res G GA S PPO PPG PIM SA PPOA PPGA PIMA
04/02/2019 @Min L 1 5 33 2 0 4 28 2 0 4
10/10/2019 Min W 5 2 32 2 0 6 40 2 0 6
12/21/2019 @Min W 6 0 31 4 1 13 31 3 0 15
01/04/2020 @Min OTL 2 3 21 5 2 12 44 5 1 10
10/19/2021 @Min OTL 5 6 30 6 2 17 44 5 3 19
11/26/2021 @Min L 1 7 31 3 1 10 38 4 0 8
02/08/2022 Min W 2 0 29 4 1 17 27 1 0 23
02/16/2022 Min W 6 3 31 2 1 4 36 2 0 4
11/23/2022 @Min L 1 6 29 2 0 19 39 5 2 13
12/27/2022 Min L 1 4 32 2 0 4 28 1 1 6

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