Wild at Blue Jackets
The Minnesota Wild have struggled mightily on the road, a bad sign to be certain with visits to some of the NHL's tougher customers lining their upcoming schedule. The Wild look to make themselves at home on the road Tuesday when they return from All-Star break with a date against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
"It's hard to put a finger on it," Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said of the Wild, who are 9-14-1 away from the Xcel Energy Center. "We're one of the best teams at home and one of the worst teams on the road. We have to find a way to get the road side better because we have some tough road buildings to go to and we can't afford to go in like this." Mikael Granlund has been heating up with 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his last nine games, including goals in back-to-back contests. While Minnesota has recorded at least a point in five of its last six (4-1-1) to stay within earshot in the congested Central Division, Columbus clawed back into second place in the ultra-tight Metropolitan after Sergei Bobrovsky made 38 saves in a 2-1 win at Arizona. The two-time Vezina Trophy recipient picked up the victory in a 5-4 triumph over Minnesota on Oct. 14, improving to 8-2-0 with one shutout, a 1.78 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in 10 career starts against the Wild.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS North (Minnesota), FS Ohio (Columbus)
ABOUT THE WILD (26-18-5): All-Star Eric Staal, 33, has registered team-leading totals in goals (20) and points (43), including one tally in the first meeting with Columbus as well as five goals and five assists this month. Jason Zucker has scored four goals in his last five contests to highlight his six-game point streak while fellow forward Marcus Foligno has five points (one goal, four assists) in his last five outings. Defenseman Ryan Suter has set up a goal in three straight games and notched two of his team-leading 26 assists in Minnesota's first encounter with the Blue Jackets.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (27-19-3): Alexander Wennberg has chipped in on offense with one goal and two assists in his last two games, including a power-play tally that accounted for just his third point with the man advantage after recording 23 last season. The 23-year-old Swede scored 47 seconds into overtime to seal Columbus' victory over Minnesota earlier this season, with Artemi Panarin notching his third assist of the game on the play. Panarin leads the team in assists (27), points (39) and power-play points (12), although Columbus ranks 31st in the NHL with the man advantage at 13.7 percent.
OVERTIME
1. Minnesota LW Tyler Ennis scored twice in the first encounter versus Columbus, although his last goal overall was on Dec. 14.
2. The Blue Jackets' 26th-ranked penalty kill has permitted eight power-play goals in the last eight games.
3. Minnesota has scored a power-play goal in each of its last five games.