Wild returns from break with Columbus in its sights

COLUMBUS, Ohio --The Minnesota Wild is back from the All-Star break with a giant challenge in front of it on Tuesday in the form of goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
A two-time Vezina Trophy winner, Bobrovsky is annually among the top goalies in the League and has been especially good against the Wild in his career, posting a 8-2-0 record in 10 career starts versus Minnesota, with a 1.78 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage.

Even those numbers were skewed by a 17-save performance back in October, when the Wild scored four times on Bobrovsky, a game the Blue Jackets won in overtime 5-4.

"I think he challenges the puck well, I think on rushes, he takes away angles pretty quick," said Wild forward Jason Zucker. "He's athletic, he moves well, but he battles. He battles on a lot of rebounds that you may think you have an empty net and he battles across and gets the rebound. It's tough for goalies to do that, especially with all the gear they have on. For them to be able to make those acrobatic, sprawling saves are tough and I think he does that quite a bit."
Nationwide Arena has historically been a tough place for the Wild as well. Just eight of Minnesota's 25 all-time wins against the Blue Jackets have come in Ohio's capital city.
"It's a tough place to play because they're a good team," said Wild coach Bruce Boudreau. "It doesn't matter where you play, you're playing against a good team, it's tough to play. They got a pretty rabid fanbase and when they score the first goal, they're a dangerous team."
Last season, Bobrovsky and Devan Dubnyk dueled in a 1-0 Jackets win here on March 2.
"I'm a big fan of his. He's one of my favorite guys to watch play. His athleticism and the way he plays, it's impressive. It's fun to watch," Dubnyk said of Bobrovsky. "It's no surprise that he's tops in the league every year and a guy to watch. Like anything, I just understand that there's a better chance than not that he's going to be great at the other end so you just try to make sure you're sharp and doing your thing as well."
The game against Columbus marks the beginning of a tough stretch of games for the Wild. Minnesota returns home for one game on Friday against NHL-leading Vegas, before playing in Dallas the following night.
A road game at St. Louis follows on Tuesday before a five-game homestand begins Feb. 8 against Arizona, so there aren't many gimmes on the Wild's schedule the rest of the month.
"I don't think there's a whole lot the rest of the year for us," Zucker said. "Especially the position we've put ourselves in and where we're at right now, we gotta make sure that we start with this week, make a statement and move on from there."

No Staal, no problem

The Wild practiced in Columbus on Monday without its lone All-Star representative, who was stuck in Tampa because of mechanical difficulties with his plane.
Boudreau said he expected him to arrive in Columbus late Monday afternoon or in the evening.
As for the group on the ice, Boudreau did some shuffling.
Assistant coach Darby Hendrickson took Staal's place during line rushes with Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle.
The line of Jason Zucker, Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund remained the same, while Chris Stewart and Daniel Winnik flanked Joel Eriksson Ek, who was celebrating his 21st birthday on Monday.
"We're playing a pretty big, tough team. Teams like this [Stewart] does well in," Boudreau said. "I think if you look at the road record, Stewie might be one of our leading scorers on the road. Eight goals all on the road."

Nino possible this week?

Wild forward Nino Niederreiter will miss his eighth game on Tuesday, but could return by the end of the week.
Niederreiter, who has battled various lower-body ailments all season, was scheduled to take the ice on his own on Monday and with skating coach Andy Ness on Tuesday before potentially returning to practice with the team on Wednesday.
Boudreau wouldn't rule him out for the weekend.
"Hopefully they give him the OK to play and if he does get it, we'll certainly put him in," Boudreau said.