Preview: Wild at Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Minnesota Wild begins another road trip tonight, first challenging the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Saturday, October 19 at 6:00 p.m. CT
• Where: Nationwide Arena (Columbus, Ohio)
• Watch: Bally Sports North
• Listen: KFAN 100.3 FM
• Gamecenter: Wild vs. Blue Jackets

Wild Record: 2-0-2, 6 points, 4th in Central Division

Blue Jackets Record: 2-2-0, 4 points, T-4th in Metropolitan Division

2024-25 Series Record: 1-0-0

All-Time Wild Record: 34-22-11 (12-15-5 at Columbus)

This Season on Wild vs. Blue Jackets

Minnesota won the series-opening game, 3-2, in St. Paul (10/10).

LW Matt Boldy led the Wild with three points (1-2=3). LW Marcus Johansson tallied two points (0-2=2). G Filip Gustavsson saved 31-of-33 shots faced to earn the win.

C Kent Johnson led the Blue Jackets with two points (1-1=2). D Zach Werenski also scored for Columbus (1- 0=1). G Elvis Merzlikins saved 23-of-26 shots faced.

Wild Leaders Against Blue Jackets

• Johansson leads Minnesota with 24 points (10-14=24) in 34 career games against the Blue Jackets
• RW Mats Zuccarello has 19 points (9-10=19) in 32 games
• D Jared Spurgeon owns 13 points (2-11=13) in 26 matches
• C Ryan Hartman has 11 points (1-10=11) in 16 games

Blue Jackets Leaders Against Wild

• D Jack Johnson leads Columbus with 18 points (4-14=18) in 46 career games against Minnesota
• C Sean Monahan has 14 points (6-8=14) in 30 games
• LW James van Riemsdyk owns 11 points (8-3=11) in 21 games
• D Damon Severson owns eight assists (0-8=8) in 18 games

Recent Transactions

The Minnesota Wild signed G Jesper Wallstedt to a two-year contract extension through the 2026-27 season (10/7).

To view more recent transactions, visit wild.com/transactions.

Connections

• Columbus Head Coach Dean Evason spent parts of five seasons as the Head Coach of Minnesota, posting a 147-77-27 record in 251 games (2020-23). Evason led Minnesota to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of his first four seasons.
• 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.

Fast Facts

• Minnesota is on a 10-game point streak (8-0-2) vs. Columbus, its longest-ever point streak against the Blue Jackets, and has earned points in 18 of its last 24 meetings (13-6-5)
• The Wild is 8-5-2 in its last 15 games at Nationwide Arena and 12-4-5 in the last 21 games at Xcel Energy Center
• 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

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