Cole Perfetti wasted no time setting the tone Tuesday night, and the Winnipeg Jets kept building from there.
Perfetti scored twice, Mark Scheifele piled up a goal and two assists, and Winnipeg handled the Minnesota Wild 5-2. Kyle Connor also chipped in with a goal and an assist as the Jets’ top line did plenty of damage after Perfetti was moved up with Scheifele and Connor.
That trio combined for seven points against Minnesota. Connor has now scored in three straight games and in five of six this season, while Perfetti’s two-goal night gave him five goals on the year. Last season, Winnipeg’s winger needed 40 games to reach that same mark.
Perfetti’s first goal came just 1:50 into the game, when he buried his fourth of the season. He struck again late in the second period on the power play, finishing a pass from Gabriel Vilardi in the slot.
Cole Koepke also scored for Winnipeg, which wrapped up a three-game homestand with a 2-1 mark.
The Jets stayed in front all night, leading 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 along the way.
Kirill Kaprizov accounted for both Minnesota goals, giving him the NHL lead with eight. The Wild were playing the second half of a back-to-back after beating the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night.
Stuart Skinner made 19 saves and remained unbeaten in regulation at 3-0-1. Calvin Pickard stopped 20 shots for Minnesota.
Winnipeg went 1 for 2 on the power play, while Minnesota finished 0 for 2.
Quinn Hughes picked up an assist to extend his point streak to seven games. He has two goals and eight assists during that run.
Up next, the Wild host St. Louis on Thursday night, and the Jets visit Chicago on Thursday night.
In Other News...
Wild Injury Problems Just Reached Jared Spurgeon
The injury list around the Wild has been piling up early enough that every new absence feels less like bad luck and more like part of the nightly routine. Brock Fabers fractured skull already put a major dent in the blue line, and injuries have also touched Filip Gustavsson, Nick Foligno and Marcus Foligno, leaving Minnesota to juggle its roster while trying to stay afloat through the opening stretch.
Now the burden has reached captain Jared Spurgeon, who was unavailable for the next game after getting hurt in the previous matchup. With Nico Sturm also leaving that game after taking a shot to the head, the Wild had to rework things again for their meeting with the Winnipeg Jets, a reminder that the team is spending as much energy adjusting its lineup as it is trying to build any kind of early-season rhythm. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Suddenly Have A Goalie Dilemma Fans Should Be Watching
Jesper Wallstedt has given the Wild something they always want but rarely get for free: steady goaltending while the incumbent is out. With Filip Gustavsson sidelined by offseason hip surgery, Wallstedt has handled the primary job well enough to keep Minnesota from feeling the absence as sharply as it might have, and it has quietly changed the shape of the season in net. What looked like a temporary fill-in assignment is starting to feel like a real evaluation of where the organization stands at the position.
Gustavsson is expected back later in the year, and when he does return the Wild will have a decision to manage rather than a simple handshake and a thank-you. Two capable goalies can be a luxury, but they can also become a logjam when the offseason arrives and the club has to weigh contracts, roles and possible trade interest. For Minnesota, the upside is obvious. The harder part may be figuring out how to keep both goalies happy, and whether that is even realistic. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Fans Suddenly Have A Bigger Quinn Hughes Dilemma
Kirill Kaprizov did his part, scoring both Minnesota goals in a 5-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, but the bigger conversation around the Wild is drifting well beyond one frustrating night on the scoreboard. Quinn Hughes has opened the season with an assist in all seven games, setting a franchise record for a defenseman and only adding to the intrigue around where this all leads for a player who still does not have a contract extension in place.
For Wild fans, the uncertainty has started to feel bigger than the usual star-player wait-and-see routine. The question is no longer just whether Hughes stays in Minnesota, but how his future could reshape the team's long-term picture, especially with speculation continuing to swirl around the possibility of his family connection becoming part of the equation down the road. [Read more 🡒]