Preview: Wild at Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Minnesota Wild heads out on the road for the first time in 2024 to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Saturday, January 6 at 6:00 p.m. CT
• Where: Nationwide Arena (Columbus, Ohio)
• Watch: Bally Sports North
• Listen: KFAN 100.3 FM
• Gamecenter: Wild at Blue Jackets

Wild Record: 16-17-4, 36 points, 7th in Central Division

Blue Jackets Record: 13-9-8, 34 points, 8th in Metropolitan Division

2023-24 Series Record: 0-0-1

Wild vs. Blue Jackets All-Time Record: 32-22-11 (11-15-5 at Columbus)

Last Time Out

The Wild lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning. 4-1, on Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center (1/4). D Zach Bogosian was the lone goal-scorer for Minnesota, scoring his first goal in a Wild sweater against his former team. He was assisted by D Alex Goligoski and F Ryan Hartman. G Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 26-of-29 shots faced (.897 SV%). 

The Blue Jackets earned a shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2, on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center. D Damon Severson and D Jake Bean scored in regulation for Columbus. F Johnny Gaudreau secured the win with a goal in the shootout. G Daniil Tarasov saved 39-of-41 shots on goal (.951 SV%), and all three Flyers attempts in the shootout, in the win for the Blue Jackets.

What Happened Last Time?

The Blue Jackets won the series-opening game, 5-4, in overtime at Xcel Energy Center (10/21). F Joel Eriksson Ek (0-2=2), F Marcus Johansson (1-1=2), F Pat Maroon (0-2=2) and D Dakota Mermis (1-1=2) led the Wild with two points each. G Filip Gustavsson saved 49-of-54 shots faced for Minnesota.

Severson led Columbus with two points (0-2=2). F Justin Danforth (1-0=1), F Adam Fantilli (1-0=1), F Boone Jenner (1-0=1), F Kent Johnson (1-0=1) and F Jack Roslovic (1-0=1) all scored goals for the Blue Jackets. G Elvis Merzlikins saved 24-of-28 shots faced for Columbus.

Players to Watch

• Fleury currently sits at 550 career wins and needs two wins to pass Patrick Roy (551 career wins) for second-most in NHL history
• D Brock Faber leads all NHL rookies with 24:38 TOI per game, is T-1st with a plus-9 rating and 64 blocked shots, and fifth with 14 assists
  • He is third among rookie defensemen with 16 points (2-14=16) and 11th among all NHL skaters in TOI/game (min. 25 games played)
• F Marco Rossi, among NHL rookies, is T-2nd in goals (11), third in points (11-12=23), fourth in shots on goal (73) and is T-4th in plus-minus rating (plus 7)
• Fantilli is second among NHL rookies in points (11-13=24) and is T-2nd with Rossi in goals
  • He is also third on the Blue Jackets in goals and points and is T-4th in assists
• D Zach Werenski is first on Columbus with 24 assists, points per game (0.74) and 24:04 TOI per game, and is T-1st on Columbus in points (1-24=25)
• Gaudreau is T-1st on the Blue Jackets in (7-18=25), second in points per game (0.63) and third in assists

Recent Transactions

Recalled F Adam Raska from Iowa and reassigned F Sammy Walker to Iowa (1/5).

To view more Recent Transactions, visit wild.com/transactions.

To view Minnesota's full Injury Report, visit wild.com/injury.

Fast Facts

• Minnesota is 7-1-2 in its last 10 games vs. Columbus and has earned points in 15 of its last 21 meetings overall (11-6-4)
• The Wild is 7-5-2 in its last 14 games at Nationwide Arena and 11-4-4
• The Wild (12-game win streak) vs. Blue Jackets (14-game win streak) game on Dec. 31, 2016, marked the first time two teams faced each other while holding win streaks of at least 12 games in the history of the NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL, MLS and WNBA

Connections

Columbus Goalie Coach Niklas Backstrom went 194-142-50 in 409 career games with Minnesota (2006-15). He is the franchise leader in games played and wins.

Game Notes

For more information on tonight's contest, check out the game notes below.