National Hockey League
Minnesota 4, Winnipeg 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 27, 2022
Where: Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Referees: Brandon Blandina, Chris Lee
Linesmen: Bevan Mills, Derek Nansen
Attendance: 15325

Mats Zuccarello, Frederick Gaudreau and Jared Spurgeon each had a goal and an assist and the Minnesota Wild defeated the host Winnipeg Jets 4-1 on Tuesday.

Samuel Walker also scored for the Wild, who endured an odd travel day, having to fly to Winnipeg on the day of the game because of the NHL's three-day holiday break.

Pierre-Luc Dubois scored for Winnipeg, while Connor Hellebuyck made 24 saves in the loss.

Filip Gustavsson made 31 saves for Minnesota.

Spurgeon gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead at 5:29 of the first period on the power play, going to the net and finishing off a feed from Ryan Hartman for his fourth goal of the season.

Zuccarello made it 2-0 at 6:33 of the opening period, one-timing a drop pass from Kirill Kaprizov.

Winnipeg clawed back and made it 2-1 at 10:03 of the first period when Dubois scored his 16th goal of the season. Josh Morrissey had the primary assist, registering his 40th point in just his 35th game. Morrissey is just the fourth active defenseman to achieve 40 points in 35, joining Erik Karlsson (this season), John Carlson (2019-20) and Morgan Rielly (2018-19).

Morrissey had an injury scare in the game when he got tangled up with Wild forward Matt Boldy along the boards. Morrissey grabbed his left arm as he went down the tunnel for further examination. After a quick consult, the defenseman returned to the game and didn't miss another shift.

Zuccarello set up Gaudreau to make it 3-1 at 8:55 of the second period, restoring Minnesota's two-goal lead. Zuccarello left the penalty box and carried the puck into the zone before sending a well-placed pass to Gaudreau for the finish on the odd-man rush.

Walker scored into the empty net to make it 4-1 with 2:05 remaining.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Minnesota   Winnipeg
Frederick Gaudreau 2 Points Pierre-Luc Dubois 1
Frederick Gaudreau 1 Goals Pierre-Luc Dubois 1
Sam Steel 2 Assists Kyle Connor 1
Jared Spurgeon 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Filip Gustavsson .969 Save Percentage Connor Hellebuyck .889
Filip Gustavsson 31 Saves Connor Hellebuyck 24
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Minnesota 28 4 1-1 2-2 6 25
Winnipeg 32 1 0-2 0-1 4 37
Upcoming Games
  • Winnipeg will play their next game at home against Vancouver. The Jets have a W/L % of .545 after a win and .692 after a loss.
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Wild have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .571 after a loss.