The Minnesota Wild didn’t waste their Hockey Fights Cancer night.
On Sunday evening, Oct. 18, they took a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at home, and they did it with the same lineup they had in their previous game except for one change: Jared Spurgeon was moved to injured reserve. Even with injuries still hanging over them, the Wild kept finding ways to get results.
Jesper Wallstedt got the start in goal, and the game settled into a tight back-and-forth after Columbus answered late in the first period to make it 1-1 heading into the second. Minnesota then grabbed the lead early in the middle frame on the power play, and that was enough. The Blue Jackets pushed in the third, but the Wild shut the door and finished off the one-goal win.
The power play continues to be a real weapon for Minnesota. Outside of their loss to the Winnipeg Jets early last week, the Wild have scored with the man advantage in every game this season.
That’s eight power-play goals in nine games, and against Columbus it was the difference-maker once again. The group has looked sharp, quick, and decisive, getting pucks to the net faster instead of overworking possessions with extra passes.
That’s a much different feel from last season, when an early burst with the man advantage faded fast.
Another line that kept giving Minnesota life was the trio of Yakov Trenin, Danila Yurov, and Maxim Shabanov. They had already flashed earlier in the week with a highlight-reel goal against the St.
Louis Blues, and they kept rolling against Columbus. This time Trenin set it up and Yurov finished it.
Yurov was active all night and did not hesitate to shoot, finishing with four shots on goal. That was just one behind Kirill Kaprizov, who led the Wild with five.
Yurov has looked noticeably more confident early this season, and that edge is showing up in the way his line is playing together. Trenin and Shabanov have matched that energy, and the chemistry has been obvious for a line that is still relatively new.
“Yep, they have good chemistry and you know like we said earlier I think that last year when Vladdy (Tarasenko) was here, I mean he and Shabby (Shabanov) are different players but of similar…in a sense that they are smart players, they play well without the puck, they got skill, they have good vision, they work hard and that combination with Trenny (Trenin) and Yurov was good as well so it’s nice to see them playing really solid,” said head coach John Hynes to the media in his postgame press conference when asked about the third line.
Kaprizov, as usual, left his mark too. He scored his 10th goal of the season against the Blue Jackets, becoming the first player in the NHL to reach double digits in goals this season.
It was also the first time a Wild player had done it in fewer than 12 games, with Kaprizov getting there in the team’s ninth game of the year. He has done it while skating with different line combinations, and he’s kept producing no matter who’s beside him.
Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy have both found more offense when paired with him, and that remains one of the biggest reasons he matters so much to this team.
“I don’t know, I feel like first couple of games it was a little bit tough, don’t feel like power right away, and then after two, three, four games feel better a little bit now. I don’t know if it’s better shorter camp or not better, every player {is} different but yeah just feel better now…” said Kaprizov to the media in his postgame interview when asked about the stars in the NHL having good starts.
Minnesota now heads out on the road for about the next nine days, with stops against the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Seattle Kraken, Vancouver Canucks, and Utah Mammoth before returning home. The big question is whether this same formula keeps working away from home.
In Other News...
Zach Werenski's Future In Columbus May Hinge On One Thing
Zach Werenskis name is back in the rumor mill, even if the path to anything happening is far from simple. On the Spittin Chiclets podcast, Paul Bissonnette suggested the Blue Jackets could eventually explore moving their defenseman if the teams play does not pick up, a reminder of how quickly a struggling season can revive old trade chatter around one of Columbus cornerstone players.
Werenski has made it clear he wants to stay in Columbus and help the club get back to the playoffs, and his leverage is substantial. He also reportedly turned down a trade to Dallas in the offseason, and with a full no-trade clause in place, any future discussion would have to clear a major obstacle before it gets anywhere. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Face An Early Trade Decision That Could Shift The Lineup
With the Blue Jackets still sorting out how aggressively they want to push this season, Dmitri Voronkov has emerged as one of the more interesting names in their early trade conversations. Columbus is reportedly open to moving the forward, who has been a productive piece during his time with the club and remains the kind of player other teams would likely view as a useful addition.
Voronkov is in the final year of his contract, which gives the Blue Jackets a built-in decision point as they weigh short-term gains against the value of keeping him in the lineup. There is no deal on the verge of happening, but the fact that Columbus is even exploring whether he could be part of a trade package suggests the front office is at least considering a move that would bring immediate help back the other way. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Still Havent Been Tested The Way Fans Wanted
The Blue Jackets are only seven games into the season, but the bigger issue has been the lineup churn around them. At 3-4-0, Columbus has had to navigate the early schedule without two important defensemen, which has blurred the picture of what this group really looks like when it is whole. The absence of Ivan Provorov has been especially noticeable, pushing more responsibility onto others and forcing Zach Werenski and the rest of the blue line to soak up heavier minutes.
Dante Fabbros injury has added another layer to that uncertainty, leaving the Jackets without a steady defensive mix long enough to get a fair read on their start. Until the roster settles down and the back end can play together for more than a brief stretch, the early results will remain hard to judge. For a team trying to establish itself, the real test still feels like it is waiting off in the near future. [Read more 🡒]