Get more pucks on net. That was the mantra from the Minnesota Wild after their Game 1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
Get more pucks on net.
The Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck made 16 saves, 16, in a 4-1 win over the Wild to grab a
2-0 series lead heading to St Paul.
“The first game was amazing, a pretty cool experience,” Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers said. “We played OK, but … we took a huge step today. Now we want more steps.”
Patrik Laine scored his second of the series and Tyler Myers, Paul Stastny and Andrew Copp added markers in the win.
“It was a fun one,” Roslovic (two assists) said. “Obviously, the building was pretty electric and there’s a lot to take out of that game. Once the nerves settle in, you’ve got to just play your game and just do what you’ve got to do.”
Zach Parise scored the lone Wild goal in the loss as they now head home trailing 0-2 and needing a win in Game 3 Sunday.
“The message is simple: You’ve got to win four,” Minnesota head coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Give the other team credit tonight. They played real good. They won the battles, and consequently they had the puck.”
The Jets held a 1-0 lead going into the third period and broke it open with three straight goals.
“We were just trying to play it simple, throw a lot of pucks to the net,” Laine said. “We’ve tried to do that a lot. We know [Dubnyk] is going to give up a lot of rebounds in front of him. So we got a couple of those goals, from pretty much in front of him, and we’ve pretty much got to keep doing that.”
[WATCH: All Wild vs. Jets highlights | Complete Jets vs. Wild series coverage]
Devan Dubnyk made 40 saves in the loss.
“We couldn’t answer their momentum,” the Wild’s Mikko Koivu said. “They got the pucks deep and pressured our [defensemen] and we couldn’t come with passes and clear the zone like we usually do. That’s our strength and we’ve got to find that.
“Teams put a lot of pressure on you, and especially in the playoffs, and you’ve got to be able to support one another and move the puck quick and try to get the momentum the other way. We couldn’t do that, and that’s something we need to change.”

You must be logged in to post a comment.