Kyle Connor scored 51 seconds into overtime to lift the Winnipeg Jets to a 2-1 win over the visiting Minnesota Wild on Sunday evening.
Mark Scheifele finished with a goal and an assist for Winnipeg, which won its third game in a row to start the season. Adam Lowry and Josh Morrissey tallied assists for the Jets.
Jake Middleton scored the lone goal for Minnesota. The Wild have earned one point apiece in each of their past two games with a shootout-round loss and an overtime loss.
Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped 26 of 27 shots to earn the win. He made 25 saves in regulation and stopped the only shot he faced in the extra session.
Filip Gustavsson allowed two goals on 35 shots for the Wild.
Connor scored the game-winning goal from the right circle. He took a hard pass from Scheifele and fired a rising shot that beat Gustavsson on his glove side.
The play marked Connor’s second goal in three games this season. The 27-year-old has 245 career goals in 534 games.
The Wild opened the scoring 4:06 into the first period.
Middleton corralled the puck near the blue line and fired a long wrist shot toward the net. The shot appeared to catch Hellebuyck off guard, and it beat him stick side for Middleton’s first goal of the season.
The Jets evened the score at 1-1 with 2.9 seconds remaining in the first period.
Lowry won a faceoff in the offensive zone and slid the puck toward Scheifele, who blasted a one-timer into the net. The play marked Scheifele’s third goal in the past two games and his fourth goal of the season.
Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek did not travel with the team for Sunday’s game. He was elbowed in the face Saturday night against Seattle and played one shift with a protective face shield before he left for the remainder of the contest.
Connor led all skaters with eight shots on goal. Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov and Jets defenseman Neal Pionk were next with four shots apiece.
–Field Level Media
