Takeaways: Wild pummeled by Jets 6-2 for third loss in a row

The Wild are in their first rut in ages after suffering one of their worst losses of the season.

They were waxed 6-2 by the Jets on Thursday, Jan. 15, and booed at Grand Casino Arena while dropping a third consecutive game and second in a blowout.

This is the Wild’s longest skid since a five-game funk Oct. 22-30.

“We’ve hit some adversity here, but that’s what happens,” coach John Hynes said. “You’re going to be up. You’re going to be down. But the important thing is to stay levelheaded, make sure that we’re getting the right things out of these, and then we have to move forward.”

Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele had a goal and three assists, but Connor Hellebuyck set the tone by stopping 32 shots, including 10 in a row before his teammates even registered a shot on the Wild’s net.

After the Jets scored three in the first period, the latter two the fastest given up by the Wild on home ice in franchise history, Winnipeg tacked on another three in the second. The Jets went 2-for-4 on the power play, while the Wild blanked on their three opportunities.

Jesper Wallstedt, who was starting consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 7-9 after the rookie goalie was on the hook for the 5-2 loss to New Jersey three nights earlier, had 14 saves before getting replaced by Filip Gustavsson to begin the third period. Gustavsson made nine saves in relief.

This loss came on the heels of the team announcing defenseman Jonas Brodin would be sidelined week-to-week because of a lower-body injury.

Center Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Zach Bogosian remained out, also because of lower-body injuries, and the Wild had 22-year-old David Spacek make his NHL debut.

A rout looked possible early on … but with the Wild trouncing the Jets.

The Wild dominated the puck for most of the first period, getting off those 10 shots before Winnipeg even had one attempt against Wallstedt, but Hellebuyck fended off the pressure superbly.

“It was just a really great start by us,” Marcus Foligno said.

“We were dictating,” Hynes said, “and then we take some penalties and kind of give it away a little bit — or give them a little opportunity to be able to score."

Then in the final minute of the period, Winnipeg capitalized twice in eight seconds: Tanner Pearson had two tries at a rebound and buried the second with 11 seconds left before Josh Morrissey walked into a one-timer off a faceoff with three seconds to go in the first.

Until then, the fastest two goals given up by the Wild at home were when St. Louis scored 10 seconds apart on Dec. 2, 2001.

“It just seemed like one of those games everything was kind of going in and just things kept falling on top of you when you were hoping to kind of get a breath and couldn’t,” Foligno said.

Consecutive penalties by Matt Boldy (a high stick in the offensive zone) and Foligno (trip) changed the game.

“There’s a lot of details of the game that cost us,” Hynes said.

They did get one goal back, 4:53 into the second on a one-timer from rookie Danila Yurov. But the Jets steamrolled the Wild after that.

Seconds after another Winnipeg power play expired, Logan Stanley skated in from the blue line and wired the puck by Wallstedt at 9:33 after an unsuccessful clear by the Wild.

“I thought I had the puck out and he got it back, took a slapshot, and he picked a corner,” Foligno said, “and then it’s 4-1.”

Quinn Hughes had a breakaway after picking the puck off Scheifele but didn’t get a shot off and collided with a sliding Hellebuyck. No penalty was assessed on the play, but in the aftermath Nico Sturm was called for unsportsmanlike conduct.

On the ensuing power play, Vilardi tapped in a carom off the end boards at 12:51.

With 2:48 remaining in the second, Scheifele drained a shot from the right faceoff circle.

“Look at the goals,” Mats Zuccarello said. “All top, top corners, bouncing off the wall, and that. So, it’s one of those days where it’s really hard to lose like that, but you just have to brush it away.”

Marcus Johansson slapped in a behind-the-net pass with 2:44 to go in the third period to avoid the Wild’s first five-goal defeat of the season; this was their fourth four-goal loss.

BOXSCORE: Winnipeg 6, Wild 2

The Wild entered the game the least penalized team in the NHL, so their four penalties were uncharacteristic but also extremely damaging.

“We have good habits,” Hynes said. “Tonight we didn’t have them, so it cost us.”

This is the most off the Wild have played since the start of the season.

Rarely since then have they gone more than a game without earning a point let alone a three-game blip where they just haven’t clicked. Fatigue explains some of it, but the Wild just haven’t been sharp — on offense and defense — and no matter how high up in the standings they are, those issues will make any team vulnerable.