The Winnipeg Jets are heading to the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Thanks to 3-1 win in Minnesota over their closest geographical rival on Tuesday, the Jets will return to the postseason after missing out in 2021-22.

It took 81 of 82 games, but the Jets are playoff-bound.

Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton each scored for Winnipeg, which once again relied on exceptional goaltending from Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck in the postseason-clinching game.

He turned aside 33 of 34 shots en route to his 37th win of the season, in a game which the Jets were heavily outshot (34-20). The game was Hellebuyck's 13th-straight start, and Winnipeg's fifth win in its last six outings.

"That one felt pretty good, I'll tell you that," Hellebuyck said post-game. "We battled our adversity. It might have taken us a little bit longer, but I think we figured ourselves out. We have the character in the room, and now we know what our game is. To come out and show it through this stretch is huge."

With the victory, the Jets will be the eighth-ranked team in the Western Conference, and take on either the Vegas Golden Knights or the Edmonton Oilers in the opening round, depending on the outcome of both teams' final game. The win also eliminated the Nashville Predators from playoff contention, solidifying the eight teams moving on in the West.

“Give the guys a ton of credit because things weren’t going very well for us for a while and we dug ourselves out of a hole and found a way to get on a winning streak,” Jets head coach Rick Bowness said. “You give the players an awful lot of credit for that.”

Jumping out to a quick start on a Lowry marker just 3:53 into the opening frame, Winnipeg got the lead on a play that saw its strongest forward outmuscle his checker and bang home a Nino Niederreiter shot attempt. 

The Jets extended their lead less than 10 minutes later, as Scheifele banked home his 42nd goal of the season. Both Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois touched the puck before it landed on Scheifele's stick, back-door, as the Jets' top scorer made it 2-0 Winnipeg.

That lead would last until Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov was able to finally beat Hellebuyck on a power play rebound, 1:59 into the third period. 

Winnipeg would shut things down, however, as Appleton put his fifth of the season past Marc-Andre Fleury for the insurance marker with just under six minutes remaining.

None of the four goals were highlight worthy, as the game's most excitement came from the more physical side of things. 

Winnipeg-born tough guy Ryan Reaves delivered an unpenalized check from behind on Dylan DeMelo, which set the wheels in motion for some retribution from the Jets. 

Nikolaj Ehlers later ran Kaprizov on a hard check into the glass, and was later interfered with heavily at centre ice by fellow pugilist Ryan Hartman. 

Bowness and the Jets did not like that play, with tempers flaring to the tune of a five-minute crosschecking majoring on Neal Pionk and a few punches to the head of Hartman courtesy of Brenden Dillon.

With 25 seconds remaining, Wild head coach Dean Evason put Reaves on the ice for a neutral zone face-off, and a premeditated bout between he and Lowry ensued. 

Lowry got the better of Reaves for the second-straight time, with fans in attendance at Xcel Energy Center certainly getting their money's worth, despite heading home with a loss. 

“They got real dirty. I don’t know why,” Hellebuyck laughed. “We were playing hard. I guess they were playing hard, too. But they were getting a little unnecessary. I think the refs maybe let it get a little out of control... but that's playoff hockey."

The Jets mobbed their goaltender - and rightly so - following the final horn, as their playoff fate was finally secured, with one game left to be played.

"That was a huge game. It's a big feeling," Scheifele said. "We did it on our own. We didn't wait for other things to happen. We handled it tonight and it feels good."

Bowness and company will certainly rest a few of their stars in Thursday's game against Colorado, with players such as David Rittich, Karson Kuhlman, Logan Stanley, Kyle Capobianco, David Gustafsson and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby likely getting a shot at some game action following lengthy stretches in the press box. 

Thursday's game will get underway at 7:00 PM central time from Ball Arena in Denver. The game can be viewed live on TSN.