ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Wild's last week of dress rehearsals before the playoffs are drawing mixed reviews.
After a late rally made up for a disastrous display in Chicago the night before, the Wild were better on Tuesday with more of their regulars in the lineup but lost to squash their chances at winning the Central Division.
Winnipeg locked up the last playoff spot in the Western Conference by holding off the Wild, 3-1, in front of 19,199 at Xcel Energy Center, the fourth game the Wild have dropped in their last six.
They're a ho-hum 2-2 since clinching their own berth, and the team wraps up the regular season on Thursday at Nashville.
A pair of first-period goals by the Jets, off just four shots, and 33 saves by goaltender Connor Hellebuyck booked Winnipeg's ticket to the postseason and sealed its first win of the season in four matchups with the Wild.
The Jets tacked on a third goal, a one-timer from Mason Appleton, with 5:54 left in the third period.
Winnipeg was business-like from the get-go, capitalizing on its first shot when a shot block by the Wild's Jake Middleton popped right to Adam Lowry for the put-back just 3 minutes, 53 seconds into the first period.
Three shots later, the Jets widened their lead on another fortuitous bounce.
Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped Nate Schmidt's shot, and the rebound caromed right to Mark Scheifele, who was all alone at the back post for the deposit at 13:10.
The Wild took over control of the puck after, testing Hellebuyck regularly.
Ryan Reaves had a look right in front blocked, and Kirill Kaprizov was also denied. The Wild also received an extended 5-on-3 power play after Kaprizov was high-sticked, but the Wild didn't take advantage.
The second was scoreless, although this period the Jets dominated the shot clock (11-4).
But like they did on Monday when they overcame an abysmal second period vs. the Blackhawks to win 4-2, the Wild reset in the third period.
After Kirill Kaprizov had three close calls on the power play, including a shot through the crease that banked off the post, the Wild finally solved Hellebuyck. A Matt Boldy shot knocked Hellebuyck's stick out of his grasp and Kaprizov pounced on the rebound off a John Klingberg shot, sliding a backhander by Hellebuyck at 1:59.
Overall, the Wild went 1 for 5 on the power play, while Winnipeg went 0 for 3.
Kaprizov's goal was his team-leading 40th goal of the season and first in the two games he's played since returning from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for 13 games. Kaprizov, linemate Mats Zuccarello, captain Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin and Matt Dumba rested on Monday, but all were in action in the team's home finale.
Kaprizov is the first player in franchise history with multiple 40-goal campaigns; he had 47 a season ago, a team record.
Despite a clear momentum boost after Kaprizov's goal, the Wild remained behind Winnipeg the rest of the way, their deficit growing on Appleton's goal, which came after Boldy was hauled down; no penalty was assessed.
Fleury, who's 8-3-1 in his last 12 starts, made 17 stops.
This result officially eliminated the Predators from contention while also securing home-ice advantage for the Stars in the first round. So, if the Wild ends up playing Dallas in Round 1, they will start on the road.
