Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, left, and Jacob Trouba, center, defend as Minnesota Wild's Mikael Granlund of Finland tries to reach the rebound during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, center, and Tyler Myers, right, team to stop Minnesota Wild's Joel Eriksson Ek of Sweden during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. The Jets won 2-1. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Winnipeg Jets' Nikolaj Ehlers, left, of Denmark, gets upended along the boards by Minnesota Wild's Chris Stewart, right, during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Winnipeg Jets' Nikolaj Ehlers, right, of Denmark, skates past Minnesota Wild goalie Alex Stalock to score during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. The Jets won 2-1. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Minnesota Wild goalie Alex Stalock, right, and Gustav Olofsson, left, of Sweden defend as Winnipeg Jets' Shawn Matthias tries to position himself for the rebound during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)



Winnipeg Jets' Joel Armia, right, of Finland, right, celebrates a goal by Kyle Connor off Minnesota Wild goalie Alex Stalock, lower, left, during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck loses his helmet as he protects the net against the Minnesota Wild during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Winnipeg Jets' Kyle Connor celebrates his goal off Minnesota Wild goalie Alex Stalock during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Winnipeg Jets' Kyle Connor, right, celebrates his goal off Minnesota Wild goalie Alex Stalock with teammates during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Minnesota Wild goalie Alex Stalock, right, blocks a shot as Winnipeg Jets' Blake Wheeler gives chase during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)



Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, left, blocks a shot by Minnesota Wild's Jason Zucker during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Winnipeg Jets' Nikolaj Ehlers, right, of Denmark, celebrates with Bryan Little after Ehlers scored on Minnesota Wild goalie Alex Stalock, left, during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. The Jets won 2-1. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Winnipeg Jets' Nikolaj Ehlers, right, of Denmark, celebrates as he scores on Minnesota Wild goalie Alex Stalock, left, during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. The Jets won 2-1. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

To his credit, Matt Dumba wore his mistake like a scarlet letter “A” after the Wild fell 2-1 to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center.

It was the right move for Dumba after his wrong move less than a minute into the third period proved to be the difference in the game.

After some terribly sloppy play through 40 minutes, Dumba capped his game with a no-look drop pass early in the third period that Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers intercepted and took the other way before beating Alex Stalock with a nifty move in front to give his team a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

“I saw (Mikael Granlund) cutting behind and I just put it too soft,” Dumba explained. “I’ve got to put that harder back there so he can skate onto that and beat that guy. That was my fault. It sucks.”

Dumba cut himself off after that before finding a few more sentences to further articulate his feelings about the outrageous gaffe.

“I know that was my fault tonight,” Dumba said, adding that he felt like he let his teammates down. “It’s like … a pick-six that the guy runs back to the house.”

Dumba never saw the ice again as coach Bruce Boudreau decided to bench him for the rest of the game to hold him accountable.

Asked how mad he was about the play, Boudreau responded, “I was up there.”

“He just hasn’t been playing that well,” Boudreau added. “He’s a good player that maybe I’ve set the bar pretty high for him, and he hasn’t reached that bar. I just thought that was an inexcusable play.”

Dumba said it was hard to watch helplessly from the bench, though he credited his teammates for making it interesting down the stretch.

“My teammates did a great job putting on the momentum,” Dumba said. “I was just trying to cheer them on. I probably wasn’t going to get in after that, and rightfully so. The guys stepped up and got three or four looks at the end, and it couldn’t have went both ways.”

Luke Kunin pulled the Wild within a goal midway through the third period after a sweet no-look pass from Nino Niederreiter.

🙌 @lukekunin9 with his second goal of the season after a slick pass by @thelnino22. #WPGvsMIN pic.twitter.com/MbiS8XyeIM — Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) November 1, 2017

It was too little, too late for the Wild, as they were unable to net the equalizer despite seemingly constant pressure down the stretch.

That type of resiliency wasn’t enough to quell Boudreau’s frustration.

“We were lucky to be in the position we were in in the last 10 minutes of the game,” Boudreau said. “They had two breakaways, maybe three, and it could’ve been (3-0 or 4-0). … In the third period, we had a ton of looks, and we we didn’t hit the net. If you can’t hit the net, you’re not going to score.”

Stalock was tagged with the loss despite another strong outing. He allowed a goal to Jets winger Kyle Connor in the first period and then couldn’t keep the game-winner from Ehlers out of the back of the net in the third period after Dumba left him hung out to dry.

“I’d like to have that one back,” Stalock said as he tried to take at least part of the blame. “I kind of made up in my mind that I was going to come out and challenge this guy, and obviously it was the wrong play. … That is my job, ultimately, to make the save. You get 100 breakaways a day in practice; that’s one I’d like to have back. It comes down to making the last save, and the other guy did tonight.”

Boudreau, meanwhile, stood up for Stalock. As far as he was concerned, even though no one played a perfect game, Stalock deserved a better fate.

“I felt pretty bad because he was good again,” Boudreau said. “I think I mentioned it in between periods. … I mean, it’s not fair to him.”