Hellebuyck gets 4th shutout, Jets defeat Wild

WINNIPEG -- Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves for his NHL-leading fourth shutout of the season, and the Winnipeg Jets won 5-0 against the Minnesota Wild at Canada Life Centre on Saturday.

“It’s probably one of our better efforts in the last few games here,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “We knew they were coming in after playing last night, went after them in the first period and kind of continued that through the three periods. Liked a lot of our compete, sort of our little details. A lot of good things that happened tonight.”

Cole Perfetti had a goal and two assists and Neal Pionk had a goal and an assist for the Jets (24-10-1), who have points in five of six (4-1-1).

“We wanted to have a good start. We haven’t had that as of late.” Perfetti said. “Our first period was huge, and we really wanted to take them out of the game. And I think we did that. We really didn’t give them anything. [We were] hard on the puck, hard on the forecheck. We really suffocated them all over the ice.”

Jesper Wallstedt made 19 saves for the Wild (20-10-4), who were shut out for the first time this season and have lost four straight, including a 2-1 loss at home to the Utah Hockey Club on Friday.

“It’s about having the right mindset and playing the game the right way,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “We have capable players, and we’ve got to get back to playing a certain style of game and being consistent with that. We have it in pockets, we don’t have it enough.”

Nikolaj Ehlers made it 1-0 Jets with a power play goal at 6:51 of the first period, sweeping the puck under Wallstedt from the netside.

“When you see his speed like that, when [Ehlers] puts it on display, it’s nerve-wracking for the opposition and especially the defenders who have to play that side of the ice,” Arniel said. “It just creates offensive zone time for that group. I thought those three [Ehlers, Perfetti, and Vladislav Namestnikov] did a really good job and spent a lot of time down in that end of the rink, and they got rewarded for it.”

Morgan Barron scored at 17:54 to make it 2-0. Alex Iafallo’s one-timer on a 2-on-1 rush beat Wallstedt, leaving Barron to jam in the loose puck in the crease.

“I saw him get the shot off and then I kind of lost it,” Barron said. “Then it popped out. Honestly, I thought I could have done a better job stopping at the net before -- I almost kind of swung behind, but stopped just in time.”

Pionk pushed it to 3-0 on the power play with a one-timer from the point at 5:19 of the second period.

“I knew coming in that they were going to be a very skilled power play,” Wallstedt said. “They have a lot of options and a lot of stuff that they can do, and I felt like I had good knowledge, but I just didn't execute the whole when it was needed. [They have] very, very good players on the power play and knew what they were doing.”

Perfetti made it 4-0 at 2:07 into the third period, scoring unassisted with a shot from the high slot after Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin turned it over in his own zone.

“We’ve got to stick to what gives us the best chance to win,” Hynes said. “I thought we went a little bit off script and made plays and went east-west and passed up shots. To me, that’s the bigger thing. It’s more the process of the game than it is anything about the mindset. The mindset needs to be to play the game the right way and play the game that gives us the best chance to win, gives us the best chance to produce offense, the best way to check.”

Namestnikov tipped Pionk’s point shot at 7:36 for the 5-0 final.

“A 5-0 loss, it happens in a season,” Wild forward Frederick Gaudreau said. “We're going through one of those moments right now and when you look at things with perspectives, it happens to everybody. You just have to stay positive and dig yourselves out of what we're into right now all together.”

NOTES: Jets forward Adam Lowry left the game midway through the third period. "He was just banged up a little bit there,” Arniel said. “He got banged up on one of his shifts. He should be fine." … The Jets swept the three-game season series, winning 2-1 in overtime Oct. 13 in Winnipeg, and 4-1 on Nov. 25 in Minnesota. … Winnipeg has won eight straight against Minnesota. … Hellebuyck is 6-0-1 in his past seven starts. … With 41 shutouts, Hellebuyck passed John Vanbiesbrouck and Frank Brimsek (both with 40) for the fourth-most by a United States-born goalie in NHL history.