The Columbus Blue Jackets will seek their first winning streak of the young season on Sunday when they face the Minnesota Wild in Saint Paul, Minn.
Columbus needed overtime on Saturday before skating away with a 1-0 win over the visiting New York Rangers to stop a two-game skid. It was quite the turnaround from the Blue Jackets’ previous game on Tuesday, when the visiting Florida Panthers rolled them 7-3.
Defenseman Zach Werenski said after Saturday’s win that it wasn’t hard to hear the criticism about the team after the lopsided loss. However, the Blue Jackets, along with the Los Angeles Kings, have played the fewest games of any NHL team at six.
“If you really look at the standings, everyone’s kind of around the same spot right now, around .500,” said Werenski, last season’s Norris Trophy winner as the league’s top defenseman.
“We didn’t want to fall behind that,” he continued. “I think we’re all aware of how we can play, how we have to play. Like I said, it wasn’t perfect tonight but definitely a step in the right direction.”
Werenski picked up the primary assist on Kent Johnson’s game-winning goal. Johnson leads the team with four goals, and Werenski’s five assists are one behind Charlie Coyle’s six. Coyle got the secondary helper to maintain the team lead.
The Blue Jackets have scored just 17 goals in six games. However, Wild coach John Hynes said they’re a physical team that can cause problems on the attack.
“There’s a lot of motion in the offensive zone, a lot of dives and rolls and things like that,” Hynes said. “That always presents a challenge because you got to have the awareness to know where guys are going to be because they might not be in areas you think they’re going to be.”
The Wild have two players who have combined for 14 goals in their eight contests. Kirill Kaprizov leads the NHL with nine goals this season, and Matt Boldy has five.
Kaprizov also is tied for fifth with 14 points. Minnesota defenseman Quinn Hughes has 10 assists, tying him for fourth in the league.
Minnesota has won three of four, beating the St. Louis Blues 5-4 on Thursday. Boldy had a hat trick in the game along with an assist. Kaprizov added a goal and two assists but left the game in the third period after taking a check from Blues goalie Joel Hofer.
Kaprizov did not practice Saturday, but Hynes said it was because the forward was ill.
Hynes’ team has gotten off to a strong start this season despite a rash of injuries. That includes defenseman Jared Spurgeon, who has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury, and veteran Nick Foligno, who has been on injured reserve since Oct. 9 with an upper-body injury. Both practiced Saturday, but Hynes does not expect either to suit up Sunday.
Jesper Wallstedt (5-1-1, 2.13 goals-against average, .920 save percentage) will start in goal for Minnesota for the eighth time this season. He faced the Blue Jackets for the first time last season, stopping 27 of 29 shots in a 5-2 win at Columbus on Dec. 18.
With goaltender Jet Greaves getting the shutout Saturday, Columbus may turn to journeyman backup Cam Talbot (1-1, 4.43 GAA, .822 save percentage) on Sunday. In 21 career starts against the Wild, he owns a 9-9-3 record with a 2.64 GAA and .917 save percentage.