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National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Winnipeg 4, Minnesota 3
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 27, 2014
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Gord Dwyer, Dean Morton
Linesmen: Trent Knorr, Ryan Galloway
Attendance: 19177

Jets 4, Wild 3 (OT): Captain Andrew Ladd scored a fluke goal at 2:47 of overtime as visiting Winnipeg extended its point streak to five games (4-0-1) in the opener of the home-and-home series.

Ladd unleashed a shot from the high slot that deflected off a defender's stick and hit the glass, then bounced off the top of the net and the back of goaltender John Curry's head before rolling in for the winner. Ladd and Bryan Little each finished with a goal and an assist, Adam Lowry and Blake Wheeler also scored and Evander Kane notched two assists while Michael Hutchinson made 22 saves in improving to 9-1-1 in his last 11 starts.

Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville recorded a goal and an assist apiece while Thomas Vanek also tallied for the Wild, who completed an 0-1-3 homestand. Curry turned aside 19 shots in his season debut as Minnesota dropped its fifth straight overall.

Minnesota grabbed the lead with 3:57 remaining in the first period as Granlund scored on a nifty give-and-go with Pominville, but the Jets drew even 7:17 into the second as Little fired a backhand shot between Curry's pads from the left faceoff circle. Lowry put Winnipeg ahead at 1:52 of the third by chipping the rebound of Kane's shot over Curry's left pad before Pominville knotted it at 2-2 with a blast from the right circle with 9:22 left in the session.

Wheeler gave the Jets their first lead while short-handed at 12:09, when Kane's pass from the left wing caromed off his skate and in. The Wild answered 32 seconds later as Vanek's tip of defenseman Jared Spurgeon's blast from the blue line glanced off Winnipeg blue-liner Dustin Byfuglien and past Hutchinson for a power-play tally.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota had a goal disallowed with just under nine minutes left in the second period as LW Zach Parise was ruled to have interfered with Hutchinson. ... Wild D Jonas Brodin suffered an undisclosed injury early in the third period and did not return. ... Minnesota D Stu Bickel's assist on Pominville's goal was his 10th in 73 career games and first since the 2011-12 season, when he was with the New York Rangers. ... Wheeler's goal was Winnipeg's sixth short-handed tally of the season, tying it with Toronto for the league lead.
Top Game Performances
 
Winnipeg   Minnesota
Andrew Ladd 2 Points Mikael Granlund 2
Andrew Ladd 1 Goals Mikael Granlund 1
Evander Kane 2 Assists Mikael Granlund 1
N/A Power Play Goals Thomas Vanek 1
Blake Wheeler 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
Michael Hutchinson .880 Save Percentage John Curry .826
Michael Hutchinson 22 Saves John Curry 19
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Winnipeg 23 4 0-3 4-5 15 32
Minnesota 25 3 1-5 3-3 11 33
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Winnipeg. The Wild have a W/L % of .471 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Winnipeg will play their next game at home against Minnesota. The Jets have a W/L % of .421 after a win and .647 after a loss.