Tough start dooms Wild in season-ending loss in Winnipeg

ST. PAUL --Following 82 regular season games and four more in the playoffs, the Wild's season came crashing down in a span of just 12 minutes.
Moments after a questionable icing call just moments into the game, Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba scored the first of four first-period goals for the Jets in a 5-0 win, wrapping up its First Round series with the Wild.

Winnipeg put the pedal to the metal early, getting goals from Trouba, Bryan Little, Brandon Tanev and Joel Armia in the first 11:59.
"It couldn't have gone any worse at the start for us, and it couldn't have gone any better for them," said Wild forward Eric Staal. "They got the momentum and ran with it, especially early. It's not what we had envisioned coming here. We made some mistakes and it cost us. You get behind the 8-ball by that much and it's pretty difficult hill to climb back from."

The Wild had hoped to score the first goal of the game then continue a stingy defensive effort it had perfected twice in St. Paul. The Jets scored a total of four goals -- one of them an empty-net tally -- in Games 3 and 4.
Minnesota believed if it could play from in front and make the Jets chase for the first time, the Wild could send the series back to the Twin Cities for a Game 6 on Sunday.
Those hopes were dashed on the game's first shift.
"I didn't expect that. I thought we were pretty ready," said Wild coach Bruce Boudreau. "The way we were talking, we were ready to go, so when they scored 32 seconds, it sort of takes you back a little bit.
"I thought we were rattled. I mean, we couldn't handle the puck very well. We weren't making our passes in the first 10 minutes. Looked like we were nervous out there, and they obviously took advantage of that."
But it wasn't without some controversy.
Moments before Trouba's goal, the Wild sent the puck in for a delayed icing. But the puck caromed off the end wall and back into the crease area where it was played by Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
To that point, the whistle hadn't blown and there was still a foot race to the puck.
The linesman signaled an icing anyway, and the puck came into the Wild zone.
Winnipeg won the ensuing draw, then won a battle along the wall, working the puck to Trouba at the point, who skated to his right and shot past Dubnyk for the winning goal.
"He just told me it was icing," Staal said. "I think they had already intended to blow the whistle before the goalie had touched it."
Perhaps it wouldn't have mattered.

The Jets poured on the pressure, as Little -- playing up a line because of the late scratch of Nikolaj Ehlers -- deflected a shot from Dustin Byfuglien.
Less than six minutes later, Tanev nabbed a turnover in the Wild zone and scored his first of the playoffs, 49 seconds before Armia deflected a Byfuglien shot.
"That was the game if you look back. We couldn't defend like we did the first two games here," said Wild captain Mikko Koivu. "We know they want to start hard, that's what they do at home. The] first two games we were good at it. But tonight, we couldn't respond."
The Wild and Jets played an even game after that. The only other goal came 32 seconds into the third period when Mark Scheifele scored a power-play goal. Minnesota outshot Winnipeg 21-13 over the final 40 minutes as the Jets seemed content to protect its lead.
"There were 40 minutes left to score four goals. In the second period, we had six grade-A chances and we didn't put any of them in," Boudreau said. "We put a couple of them in, maybe all of a sudden it would have been a little bit more life in the third."
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