First Filip Gustavsson left after two periods. Then Kirill Kaprizov exited in the third period after taking a cross-check from Brenden Dillon.
And on top of losing two of their top players to injuries, the Wild couldn’t overcome a two-goal hole and the Winnipeg Jets snapped their four-game win streak by beating them 4-2 win Saturday afternoon at Canada Life Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Former Wild forward Nino Niederreiter scored twice, his first coming 14 minutes, 38 seconds into the first period to give the Jets (21-9-4) a two-goal advantage. His second goal 6 minutes, 45 seconds into the second period gave them a 3-0 lead.
Ryan Hartman got the Wild (16-14-4) on the board 10 minutes, 5 seconds into the second period to cut the Jets’ lead back to two goals.
Matt Boldy got the Wild within one when he scored 20 seconds into the third period off a nice feed from Kaprizov, but Alex Jonsson-Fjallby scored just over two minutes later to push the Winnipeg lead back to two goals.
Gustavsson had 19 saves on 22 shots before exiting after the second period. Marc-Andre Fleury replaced him and stopped 9 of 10 shots to keep the Wild within reach. It was his 999th career NHL game.
Alex Iafallo had the Jets on the board first when he bounced a puck off Jared Spurgeon, who made his return from a lower-body injury on Saturday, past Gustavsson and into the net 3 minutes, 59 seconds into the first period.
The Wild won’t have much time to dwell on the loss and will have a chance to avenge it on Sunday when the Jets visit Xcel Energy Center. Puck drop is slated for 1 p.m.
