Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Mikko Koivu's second goal of the game proved to be the difference as the Minnesota Wild upended the Winnipeg Jets, 2-1, at Xcel Energy Center.
With time winding down and the game tied, Charlie Coyle won a battle for the puck in the corner and sent a pass to the left circle for Koivu, who beat Ondrej Pavelec to the short side with 3:12 remaining.
Josh Harding took care of the rest and finished with 21 saves for the Wild, who won their sixth straight at home and improved to 7-0-1 in their last eight games overall.
"We're pretty confident when he's in net and when he sees the puck, he's gonna stop it," Minnesota forward Zach Parise said about Harding.
The Jets were riding a four-game winning streak coming in but only registered one goal via Dustin Byfuglien's third-period tally. Pavelec had 22 saves in defeat.
Koivu sent Parise's centering pass between Pavelec's pads with 3:23 remaining in the opening period, and it stayed 1-0 until the third.
The Jets, after peppering Harding with 14 shots in the second period, got on the board just 54 seconds into the final stanza. Bryan Little's turnaround shot from the left circle got through a screen in front, and Byfuglien got a stick on it just before it crossed the goal line.
Game Notes
The Wild are 10-1-2 at home ... These Central Division rivals play again in Winnipeg on Saturday ... Both teams failed to score on a pair of power-play chances ... Winnipeg's Blake Wheeler recorded a game-high eight shots.
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