Wild Warmup: Minnesota at Columbus

The essentials

The opponent

The Columbus Blue Jackets went into the All-Star break on a winning note, defeating the Arizona Coyotes 2-1 at Gila River Arena on Thursday.
Alexander Wennberg and Cam Atkinson scored third-period goals for the Blue Jackets, who had lost three of four entering that game, including a 6-3 loss in Las Vegas two nights earlier.
Columbus won the only meeting of the season between the teams, rallying with two third-period goals to force overtime before winning in the extra session in the Wild's home opener on Oct. 14.
Wennberg scored the winner in that game as well, as Artemi Panarin dished out three assists.
Tyler Ennis scored two goals for the Wild in the game, which also got goals from Eric Staal and Landon Ferraro. Ryan Suter had two assists.
Panarin is Columbus' offensive leader this season, posting 39 points in 49 games. Josh Anderson leads the club with 15 goals among his 25 points. All-Star defenseman Zach Werenski has 11 goals and 22 points.
In goal, Sergei Bobrovsky is
one of the best in the League
. His 22 wins this season are sixth in the NHL. Bobrovsky also boasts a 2.46 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage.

Connections

• Wild forward Marcus Foligno is the younger brother of Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno.
• Wild defenseman Mike Reilly was selected by Columbus in the fourth round (98th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Still hot

Minnesota saw its season-long, six-game point streak (4-0-2) end Thursday with a loss in Pittsburgh. The Wild has earned points in eight of its 10 games in January (6-2-2), ranking tied for fifth amongst NHL teams in wins this month and tied for seventh in points and win percentage.

Capital cities cipher

Minnesota has earned points in seven of its last 12 meetings against Columbus. The Wild is 4-4-1 in its last nine games at Nationwide Arena and owns a 7-4-4 record in the past 15 games in St. Paul.
Related:
- Wild returns from break with Blue Jackets in sights - Minnesota recalls Eriksson Ek - Watch: Boudreau's thoughts on break, Columbus - Watch: Players discuss season's stretch run