‘Still a long way to go’: Jets blanked by Wild in second straight loss

WINNIPEG – Not only was Jasper Wallstadt undefeated on Sunday afternoon, but the Minnesota Wild goaltender has yet to be beaten this season.

Wallstadt stopped 32 shots this year to record his third shutout and eighth win in eight starts (8-0-2) as the Wild blanked the Winnipeg Jets before 14,368 at the Canada Life Centre.

“He’s playing like ‘The Wall’ right now,” said Brock Faber, whose short-handed goal gave Minnesota a 2-0 lead late in the second period. “It’s fun to watch and it gives us all confidence.

“You can tell he’s just gaining confidence as each day goes by. It’s great to see. It took time for him to get here. He’s worked and fought, and been through adversity and ups and downs, and to see him play the way he can, it’s incredible. We just need to keep rolling for him and Gus (Philip Gusto).

Faber added that Wallstadt held down the fort when the Jets blew Minnesota out of the starting gate.

“I think we probably didn’t get the start we wanted,” Wallstatt said. “I felt that we were defending really well at the moment, even though we got stuck in our own area for a few minutes and they got some pressure. We still stayed calm and collected and stuck to our game plan and, after a while, we started to go forward and play our game again.”

Wallstadt credits his teammates for his success.

“Everybody had a lot of blocked shots,” he said. “They’re sacrificing themselves, getting in front of the puck, so obviously, when they might make a mistake or bounce a puck, I’m there to protect them. We’re a team, we work together, and I feel like we have a really good relationship right now.”

“The way our team has sacrificed, 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 the sticks and everything. And boxing out, so I can focus on my job. I feel like the pucks are stuck in me and hopefully, I show some composure there, that I show they can trust me.”

The Wild (12-7-4) have not lost in their last eight outings and have not allowed a goal in their last two games.

“We’ve got great goaltending,” Wild coach John Heinz said. “I think both of those guys deserve a shutout, but I think, from a defensive standpoint, we’ve been solid in that area, so I think being solid defensively, with great goaltending, is a good way to go about it.”

Kirill Kaprizov, who extended his point streak to five games, and Daniela Yurov also scored for Minnesota.

Winnipeg fell to 12-9-0 after going 1-2 on its homestand and is headed in the wrong direction as it embarks on a five-game road trip.

“We still have a long way to go,” defenseman Dylan DeMello said. “It’s more than execution, and I think that’s our concern as a team. I don’t think we’re playing the way we want to play. The result? Take that out of the equation.

“We’re not even close to where we need to be to be a successful team when it really matters on the road. We’ve shown it in flashes, but it’s not consistent. We need to find that consistency, but we’re only a quarter of the way through the season here.”

The Jets lost defensive back Neil Pionk to a lower-body injury midway through the first round.

“We’ve been hit (by injuries) and we’ve been hit again tonight,” Jets coach Scott Arnell said. “Consistency, whether it’s period-to-period or game-to-game, that’s something I’d say was lacking in the first 21 (games).”

The loss marred Mark Scheiffel’s 900th NHL game, the most in franchise history.