Vilardi, Connor each gets 3 points, Jets defeat Wild

Gabriel Vilardi and Kyle Connor each had three points for the Winnipeg Jets in a 6-3 win against the Minnesota Wild at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg on Tuesday.

Vilardi had two power-play goals and an assist, giving him eight points (four goals, four assists) during a three-game point streak.

“It’s good that the power play is finally contributing,” Vilardi said. “We are going to need that to keep going.”

Connor had a goal and two assists, and Sean Monahan scored in a third straight game for the Jets (34-15-5), who have won four of five (4-1-0). Laurent Brossoit made 36 saves.

“We've said all along that, from the start of camp, we just didn't have the chance to put [Vilardi, Connor, and Mark Scheifele] together because of all the injuries,” Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. “And obviously [Monahan] has been a perfect fit for the bumper (on the power play), so it's nice to see. You can see the confidence growing. The puck's moving a bit, and great plays, and the puck's going in the net. We've waited a long time, but again, give the guys credit and now it just needs time to build a little chemistry."

Marco Rossi scored twice, and Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and an assist for the Wild (26-24-6), who had points in six straight (5-0-1). Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves.

“I thought we generated quite a bit. I think that we certainly should have had more goals than we did tonight,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “Unfortunately, they didn’t go in. But I thought the chance generation, expected goals, chances for, (offensive) zone time, lots of those things were in our favor, but didn’t get in tonight, so I think we’ve got to bear down. The process to get to those chances was good, but when you get that many looks and you’re that attacking offensively, you’ve got to find a way to find it get to the back of the net.”

Vilardi gave the Jets a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 9:20 when Connor’s shot from the right circle went in off his skate at the left post.

Mason Appleton scored 14 seconds later to make it 2-0 with a shot from left circle that beat Fleury over his shoulder at 9:34.

“[Brossoit] made a lot of good saves 5-on-5,” Vilardi said. “We got the two power-play goals, but there were still some things. We weren’t great 5-on-5. Especially our line, we struggled tonight 5-on-5. But I think we were cleaner as a group. I thought our third line was really, really good tonight, especially against their top guys. Credit to [Adam Lowry, Appleton, and Nino Niederreiter].”

Connor extended it to 3-0 at 1:54 of the second when Vilardi’s saucer pass found him for a snap shot in the slot.

“We knew they had a lot of firepower, so when you get up that early, it’s a long game,” Brossoit said. “I thought we did a great job of weathering the storm in the second because they did have a pretty good push. And then closed it up in the third.”

Rossi cut it to 3-1 with a power-play goal at 14:10, scoring with a wrist shot from the left circle.

“The second period was good, we could have come back,” Rossi said. "It is important for us that we learn from it, that we just have to be committed from the first minute of the game.”

Vilardi made it 4-1 on the power play at 9:38 of the third, redirecting a point shot from Josh Morrissey.

“The shot’s going wide if you look at the replay,” Vilardi said. “But if he puts it in that area, I can tip it. And I tell him a lot, and he knows, if there is a lane. … It’s all dependent on the PK. It’s not like it’s A or B, there’s a lot of variables. Reading off of what the other team’s doing.”

Monahan redirected a point shot from Dylan DeMelo in front to push it to 5-1 at 10:36.

Monahan, who did not have a point in his first four games with the Jets after he was traded from the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 2, has five goals while scoring in three straight games.

“[Monahan is a] really smart player,” Vilardi said. “He’s going to keep getting better as he keeps getting more comfortable. But yeah, we are all seeing how good he can be.”

Kaprizov cut it to 5-2 on the power play at 12:33, converting Joel Erikkson Ek’s cross-crease backhand pass.

“I don't believe we gave them too much,” Fleury said. “It was two tips in the third, a change of direction, a power-play goal that was a nice play back door, a couple shots I didn't see. So, I didn't think we got played by any means. Not to worry. Put that one behind and keep going.”

Rossi made it 5-3 at 14:11 when he redirected Kaprizov’s wrist shot from the left point.

“We know they are really good in the defensive zone, and we knew we had to work hard for those (opportunities),” Rossi said. “I think we just have to play better and get more to the net.”

Nino Niederreiter scored an empty-net goal at 17:02 for the 6-3 final.

“There are teams in our division that we've had a tendency to lose to,” Wild defenseman Brock Faber said. “Obviously, they’re important games against those teams. We’re a confident group. Again, if we put together wins … right now we're just trying to battle to get in the playoffs. But if we were to get there, we are confident in the fact that we can go on a run from there.”

NOTES: Rossi’s two goals moved him into a tie with Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard for most among rookies in the NHL (17). … Kaprizov has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) during a six-game point streak. … Eriksson Ek’s assist on Kaprizov’s goal gave him 13 points (seven goals, six assists) during a six-game point streak. … The Jets are 5-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season. … Brossoit, who is 8-4-2 in 14 starts this season, has gone 5-1-1 in his past seven.