As well as the Wild have played this month, Sunday felt like a barometer game for one key reason: The Winnipeg Jets have owned Minnesota the last few years.
That’s why the Wild’s 3-0 victory over Winnipeg at Canada Life Center was so encouraging — and indicative of how much they’ve been rolling. Sure, the Jets were without reigning MVP and three-time Vezina Trophy goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, and that’s no small loss. But after a strong first period by Winnipeg, the Wild took control and never looked back.
Minnesota snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Jets in their first win in Winnipeg since March 8, 2023.
“I thought that Winnipeg had a little bit of the edge, I think, obviously, in offensive zone time, and even just competitiveness and hardness on the puck in the first period,” coach John Hynes said. “I thought we defended well and got some key saves when we needed them, but I thought we came out in the second, I think our battle level, our competitiveness, was better. We played more of a direct game, and I thought we were able to get to the game that was going to give us the best chance to win the night.”
The Wild improved to a league-best 9-1-1 in November with a league-fewest 1.55 goals allowed in that span after Jesper Wallstedt recorded the Wild’s fifth shutout (the fourth in the past seven games). Wallstedt has a league-leading three shutouts, and they’ve all come in his past four starts.
“He’s playing like a wall right now,” defenseman Brock Faber said. “It’s fun to watch and it gives us all confidence.”
The Wild have made it easier on their goaltenders, too. They haven’t trailed in eight games, and that span since Nov. 7 against the New York Islanders made them the first team to lead or be tied for at least 480 minutes since the 2023-24 Vancouver Canucks from Jan. 8-24, 2024 (488:43). Minnesota’s penalty kill, buoyed by the season debut of veteran center Nico Sturm, killed all four Jets power plays and is 26 for its past 29. The Wild’s 7-0-1 stretch in their last eight games included a combined nine goals allowed, and that’s without two of their top three centers recently.
“The first bunch of games, that I felt we were giving up 10 shots to our one to start the game,” Faber said. “Now, I feel like it’s the other way around a little bit more. That helps our goalies a lot to settle in, opposed to them being under duress by the time the puck drops, so yeah, I think we’ve gotten off to better starts and that’s obviously allowed us to maintain a full 60 minute-games.”
If overcoming their woes against Winnipeg was a motivator, you couldn’t tell from what the Wild said after the game.
“You know, the last couple of years, we haven’t been good (against the Jets),” Hynes said. “We haven’t been focused on that, but it’s more about the present now, and now we’re 1-1 in the season series with them. So it’s nice, a good, hard-fought victory, that we know we came in, Central Division rival, so it’s good to come out on top.”
Danila Yurov, Faber and Kirill Kaprizov scored for the Wild on Sunday. Wallstedt made 32 saves.
Even though they’re on a three-game road trip, the Wild traveled back to Minnesota after the game. They will take Monday off, practice at home Tuesday and play in Chicago on Wednesday night.
Wild never chase anymore
For the 12th consecutive game, the Wild jumped out to a 1-0 lead, becoming just the fifth team in the past 30 years to do so, and it came from Yurov — on the ice with his old linemates Marcus Foligno and Yakov Trenin because of a good change by Sturm in his season debut.
“It’s easy, of course, when you score first,” Kaprizov said. “If sometimes you’re behind, you just try play the same way, and when you start leading it’s easy to play, but you always try to make more offense and it doesn’t matter what’s the score.”
After a great breakout by Jake Middleton and Foligno, Trenin — the league leader with 107 hits after another eight Sunday — checked Nino Niederreiter off the puck before skating behind the net and setting up Yurov’s third goal of the season from in front.
Trenin wins the battle, Yurov finishes it off pic.twitter.com/FCVQIHiVEm
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) November 23, 2025
The ‘Wall’ stands tall
This goalie rotation with the Wild couldn’t be going any better. Wallstedt followed up Filip Gustavsson’s shutout Friday in Pittsburgh with a shutout of his own. The touted goalie prospect is on an incredible run, having won five starts in a row with three of the last four coming via a shutout. The Wild have earned at least a point in each of his eight starts (6-0-2). In doing so, he set the franchise record for longest season-opening point streak, topping Nicklas Backstrom (6-0-1 in 2008-09).
What’s been the key to his success?
“That I have a great team in front of me,” Wallstedt said. “I think the way our team has sacrificed themselves, I feel like we’re one of the teams that blocks the most shots. We try to get in front of every puck. They take away sticks and everything, and boxing out so I can focus on my job. I feel like pucks have been getting stuck in me, and hopefully I show some calmness back there that I can show that they can trust me.”
Wallstedt was at his best early on, especially in a first period when the Jets got off to a good start. When he made a slick glove save on Gabriel Vilardi in the first, you could tell he was on. The closest Winnipeg came was midway through the second, when Mark Scheifele had a point-blank shot after a scramble, but Wallstedt stopped it and Jonas Brodin swiped the puck out of the crease.
The question is, who starts Wednesday in Chicago? We think Hynes will turn back to Gustavsson to keep both hot goalies active. But that would mean it would be the fourth straight time a Wild goaltender who picked up a shutout wouldn’t start the next game. A good problem to have, of course.
“I just told (Gustavsson), ‘Let’s keep the streak going,’” Wallstedt said. “‘Now you had one, might as well, why not make it two for us?’ We’re laughing about it, but obviously it’s a team effort.”
Team Goaltending – November 23 pic.twitter.com/Bq0x5GGDqg
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) November 23, 2025
Some other interesting tidbits on Wallstedt’s run:
• At 23 years, 9 days, Wallstedt became the youngest goaltender in Wild history to register a five-game winning streak, besting Darcy Kuemper (2013-14), who was 23 years and 302 days at the end of his run.
• He became the fourth-youngest goaltender in NHL history with a season-opening point streak of at least eight games, behind Grant Fuhr (8 GP in 1984-85 with the Edmonton Oilers), Felix Potvin (9 GP in 1993-94 with the Toronto Maple Leafs) and Pete Peeters (27 GP in 1979-80 with the Philadelphia Flyers), all of whom were 22.
• He became the second rookie goaltender in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to post three blank sheets through his first eight games of a season, joining Martin Jones (three in six games in 2013-14).
Wild score short-handed again
For the second time in three games, the Wild scored on the penalty kill after having no short-handed goals in their first 20 games.
Marcus Johansson set it up after a great job by Faber in the defensive zone. Johnasson took off for a two-on-one, but Faber said Johansson was communicating as he entered the offensive zone, yelling to Faber that he had time, and that gave Faber the confidence to jump up in the play and turn it into a three-on-two. Johansson hit the brakes and hit Faber, as the trailer, for his first career shorthanded goal.
“I was screaming (for the puck) just as loud as I could,” Faber said. “Jojo’s obviously such a gifted passer, there was no doubt in my mind that he wasn’t going to pass that thing back.”
After no points in his first nine games, Faber has five goals and 13 points in his past 14 games.
BROCK FABER SHORTHANDED 🎯 pic.twitter.com/dSbrMccTLN
— NHL (@NHL) November 23, 2025
Johansson (who is on a one-year, $800,000 contract) now has eight goals and 19 points in 23 games after scoring 34 points in 72 games last season and 30 points in 78 games in 2023-24.
Bogosian’s big block
Zach Bogosian was an unsung standout of Sunday’s game, but his physical and gutsy play has been a bright spot the past two games since his return after missing a month due to injury. His big hits on his first shift Sunday helped set a tone. And in the second period, Bogosian made a huge block on Josh Morrissey’s grade-A scoring chance when the Wild were clinging to a 1-0 lead and the Jets were pushing.
The 35-year-old veteran defenseman — and former Winnipeg Jet — has formed a solid third pair with Zeev Buium, whose play has elevated as of late. It was probably tough for Daemon Hunt to have to get scratched after how well he had played in the past few weeks, but Bogosian’s size, experience and snarl are something the Wild blue line benefits from.
Odds and ends
Hynes said Vinnie Hinostroza, who appeared to suffer a serious injury in Friday’s game in Pittsburgh, is week-to-week with a lower body injury.
Foligno had a spirited fight with Jets captain Adam Lowry.
Yurov continues to impress on the top line with Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, with his goal Sunday another example.
“What I’ve seen more with Yurov, I think he’s getting more and more comfortable with the puck and with his offensive attack game,” Hynes said. “All year long, he’s been real solid, I think, on the defensive end, and just with his hockey smarts, but now I think he’s getting more confidence with the puck, when to make plays. When he doesn’t have plays to make, I think he’s putting pucks in the good areas, and because of his smarts, he found his way into that area of the ice tonight where Trenin was able to make the play for him, he put it home.”