Blue Jackets at Wild
A heavyweight matchup with historical implications will unfold on New Year's Eve at Xcel Energy Arena in St. Paul, Minn., when the rampaging Columbus Blue Jackets put their 14-game winning streak on the line against the red-hot Minnesota Wild, who have reeled off 12 consecutive victories. Saturday's matchup marks the first time that two teams in any of the four major North American pro sports will square off with each having won at least 12 in a row.
"It's going to be a blast," Blue Jackets forward Brandon Saad said. "They're having a heck of a year and we're playing well right now, too." Columbus, riding a 16-game point streak (15-0-1), can match the New York Islanders (1982) and Pittsburgh Penguins for the second-longest winning streak of all time. Minnesota has been perfect since its lone defeat in December, a 3-2 shootout loss at Calgary on Dec. 2, but coach Bruce Boudreau is downplaying the significance of the game. "It's not the Super Bowl, it's not the Stanley Cup, it's Game 36," Boudreau said. "It's got a good little storyline. That's all it is."
TV: 6 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Columbus), FSN North (Minnesota), NHL.TV
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (25-5-4): Columbus leads the league in scoring at 3.4 goals per game and has put up some lethal offensive performances against some of the league's best teams. Featuring four players with at least 30 points, the Blue Jackets annihilated Montreal (10-0) to hand the Canadiens their first regulation loss, doubled up St. Louis (8-4) eight days later and mauled defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh (7-1) for their 11th straight victory. Former Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, who owns a league-leading 23 victories, has won 12 straight and has not lost in regulation in 14 starts (13-0-1).
ABOUT THE WILD (23-8-4): Although superb goaltending and stellar defense have been the hallmarks for Minnesota, which allowed two goals or fewer during the first nine games of the winning streak, the offense has produced 16 goals over the last three contests. "The fun thing about the winning streak is not one line is contributing to all the wins," said forward Nino Niederreiter, one of seven Wild players with at least 21 points. "It feels like every night another guy's stepping up." No one has stepped up more than Devan Dubnyk, who has 10 straight wins and, like Bobrovsky, has not lost in regulation in his last 14 starts (12-0-2).
OVERTIME
1. The Wild are 7-3-3 in their last 13 at home versus Columbus, which is 11-2-3 on the road.
2. The Blue Jackets' top-ranked power play has converted at least once in eight of the past nine games.
3. While Columbus has the league's No. 1 offense, Minnesota is permitting an NHL-low 2.0 goals per game.