Wild Vs. Jets: Winnipeg Defeats Minnesota, 2-1, Winning Eight Of Nine At Home

The Winnipeg Jets snapped the Minnesota Wild's seven-game win streak with a 2-1 win at home, thanks to Ondrej Pavelec's 34 saves on the night.  While the Wild have been on a tear and still lead the NHL in points, Bryan Little of the Jets told NHL.com that "we wanted to make this a tough arena to come play in," and his team has done just that, winning eight out of nine on home ice.

With the victory, Winnipeg has asserted that they could play strong hockey against any team at home, having beaten teams like Boston, Washington, Philadelphia and now Minnesota, the latter still leading the NHL in points with 43. The Jets have also outscored opponents at home, 32-19. Still most of those games come down to playing physically and demanding strong goaltending from each netminder.

As most games have gone with Winnipeg, neither team scored in the first period. In the second period, Guillaume Latendresse scored his first goal in his first game back from his concussion, giving the Wild a 1-0 lead. However, that was all Pavelec would allow. Zach Bogosian notched his first goal of the year at the 8:37 mark of the second period as he blasted a shot from the point. In the third, Little recorded the game-winner, catching goaltender Niklas Backstrom off-guard. Kyle Wellwod could have made it 3-1 for the Jets, but his goal was disallowed for incidental contact with Pavelec.

The Jets have five consecutive home games until they head back on the road to face the Colorado Avalanche. The home stretch gives Winnipeg a chance to gain some ground in the Eastern Conference. The Wild, however, have little to worry about, as they go right back to work Wednesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.