Wild all but seal 3rd in Central with chippy loss to Jets

Wild and Jets combined for 51 penalty minutes Tuesday

Mason Appleton's goal with just six minutes left put the scoreline away but tempers continued to flare in an incredibly chippy third period of the Minnesota Wild's 3-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets the 3-1 loss Tuesday night. 

The game featured 51 penalty minutes, with a large majority of them coming in a third period that featured an ejection, a fight, and several large scrums between the bitter Central Division rivals.

The loss all but seals Minnesota's third place Central Division finish, meaning they'll start on the road against either the Avs or the Stars in the first round of the playoffs.

𝘿𝙊𝙇𝙇𝘼. 𝘽𝙄𝙇𝙇. 𝙆𝙄𝙍𝙄𝙇𝙇. 💸💸
That's 40 goals on the season for Kaprizov!! #mnwild pic.twitter.com/mCgsIm3ixi

— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) April 12, 2023

Kirill Kaprizov drew the Wild to within one with his goal just a 1:59 into the third – his 40th goal of the season – but that's all Minnesota could muster against Connor Hellebuyck, who had 33 saves. 

Minnesota wraps up the regular season Thursday at Nashville with puck drop set for 7 p.m.