After a closely contested 3-2 loss on Sunday night against the Utah Mammoth, the Jets hit the road for a quick one game road trip in Minnesota. The now 6-3-0 Jets took on the 3-5-2 Wild at Grand Casino Arena, looking to get back to their winning ways in this battle with another Central Division opponent. The Wild haven’t got off to the start they’ve wanted, but they were hoping their “new” retro jerseys brought them some luck. The Jets, wearing their heritage jerseys on the road, started off this game great, but in the end it took a short extra frame to get the job done in Minnesota.

Tonight’s Jets lineup was once again a bit different than last game. The 1st line remained the same, but there continues to be some experimentation with the rest of the forward lines. Tonight Alex Iafallo was on the 2nd line with Jonathan Toews and Vladislav Namestnikov. The 3rd line featured Nino Niederreiter, Morgan Barron and Gustav Nyquist. Parker Ford centered the 4th line alongside Cole Koepke and Tanner Pearson.  The Jets also made a swap on defence, as Logan Stanley moved back up to the 2nd pairing, while Haydn Fleury moved back down to the 3rd pairing with Luke Schenn. Connor Hellebuyck got the start in goal, as he looked to continue his early season success. Spoiler alert, Hellebuyck was once again fantastic tonight.

The 1st period started off a little slow, as both teams settled in to tonight’s game. Shots on goal after the 1st period were 16-9 for the Wild, which explains just how great Hellebuyck was in the first 20 minutes. There was only 1 penalty in the 1st, as Haydn Fleury was called for interference with 42 seconds left in the opening period.

Despite being somewhat limited in shots on goal, the Jets struck twice near the middle of the 1st, with 2 goals in a span of 22 seconds.

Neal Pionk set up Logan Stanley at the point, and a shot from Stanley was batted from a low point off the ice on a rebound by Gabriel Vilardi past Filip Gustavsson, giving the Jets the 1-0 lead.

Soon after the face off from that goal, the Jets got set up again in the Wild zone. This time it was Logan Stanley who fed the puck to Neal Pionk, and a shot by Pionk was deflected in front by Vladislav Namestnikov to make it 2-0 Jets.

The Jets were feeling pretty good about how they played in the 1st. Logan Stanley and Neal Pionk had 2 assists each after the 1st, as it was a rare multi-point night for Stanley.

The Wild opened the 2nd period with a shortened powerplay, but this Jets top 5 penalty kill kept the Jets lead at 2-0. A few minutes later, Jake Middleton and Luke Schenn had a spirited scrap, sending them each to the box for 5 minutes. Middleton was clearly trying to set the tone as he hoped that fight would give the Wild some energy to get back in this game.

The fight worked, as the Wild scored just over 2 minutes later. Jared Spurgeon set up Matt Boldy, who fired a shot on goal. Hellebuyck got a piece of it, but the puck went up in the air and a wild scramble ensued. Kirill Kaprisov found the puck and wristed it quickly past Hellebuyck to make it 2-1.

Seven minutes later, Neal Pionk made a very costly turnover in his own end. Vinnie Hinostoza and Marco Rossi did a nice give and go, and the tic tac toe played was slapped off the boards by Faber and then unintentionally kicked into the back of the net by Hellebuyck. The shots were 24-15 Wild at this point in the game, as the Wild battled back from being down 2-0 as Hellebuyck continued to be busy in the 2nd.

The Wild’s momentum continued as the 2nd period wound down. Iafallo was called for a late slashing penalty with 23 seconds left, giving the Wild a powerplay to start the 3rd after being the Wild were the better team in the 2nd. Shots on goal after the 2nd was now 29-15 for the Wild, and the Jets needed to reset heading into the final 20 minutes of play.

The Jets killed the carried over powerplay, but the Wild went back on the powerplay a few minutes later after Logan Stanley was called for slashing. Late into the advantage, Ryan Hartman and Marco Rossi set up Brock Faber at the point, and his shot eventually found its way past Hellebuyck to give the Wild a 3-2 lead. The goal was later changed and credited to Marcus Johansson.

All three of the Wild’s goals unconventionally went into the net, but they were heavily outshooting the Jets and looked like the better team overall up until this point. The Jets still had time to get back in this game, and they started generating some chances once they went down 3-2.

With just over 8 minutes to play, the Jets tied this game at 3. Morgan Barron set up Gustav Nyquist who cut towards the goal, and on Nyquist’s shot Niederreiter got a piece of it as he directed the puck into the net.

One minute later, Tanner Pearson was called for tripping, giving the Wild a critical powerplay. Hellebuyck and the Jets penalty killers shut down to the Wild, and this game remained 3-3 late into the 3rd period. Teams traded chances in the final few minutes of play, but this game needed overtime, as the Wild continued to outshoot the Jets 36-21.

On the first and only shot of overtime just around 45 seconds after the puck dropped, the Jets won this game 4-3. Kyle Connor scored tonight’s game winner, and I’ll just let you watch the goal for yourself, as it was a classic Kyle Connor goal.

Tonight’s 3 stars have to be Connor Hellebuyck (who made 33 saves), Brock Faber (1 goal and 1 assist) and Logan Stanley (2 assists), who had a rare multi-point night. Although it wasn’t the prettiest of wins, the Jets found a way to get it done, as they picked up a much need 2 points on the road.

With the Jets mini road trip now complete, the Jets regular season schedule continues on Thursday back in Winnipeg against the Blackhawks. Puck drop for this game will be just after 7:00 pm CT. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for all of the latest Jets news, plus previews and recaps on each Jets game this season.