The Minnesota Wild began season 24 tonight at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
We just published our Season Preview so check that out if you have the time and let us know what you think!
2024-25 Minnesota Wild Season Preview – Identity Restored
Or is this a better cover:
Let’s…
Drop the ClutterPuck!!!
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Here’s how the teams lined up:
Minnesota Wild
Status Report
D Declan Chisholm was out with an illness. The Wild recalled Daemon Hunt, a defenseman, and reassigned goalie Jesper Wallstedt to Iowa of the American Hockey League on Thursday.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Status Report
Jenner, a forward, had surgery on his shoulder Wednesday and is out indefinitely.
Game Recap
There was a tribute and 13 seconds of silence for the late Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau before the game began:
1st Period
Minnesota Wild F Matt Boldy, who was injured in the 1st preseason game (?) had a breakaway early in the 1st period but Columbus D Zach Werenski caught him and we thought he slashed his stick over the top but there wasn’t a call and if there wasn’t a call, it must not have been a penalty, right?
Minnesota Wild D Brock Faber had the puck on an offensive rush, got twisted with a Columbus defender as he tried to get the puck back to Marcus Foligno and then collided with his teammate, F Marcus Foligno, falling awkwardly into the corner boards. He got up and skated gingerly off the ice. That didn’t look good but he returned and looked no worse for the wear.
Minnesota Wild F Jakub Lauko, acquired from Boston for F Vinni Lettieri, made a rush up the ice and fired a backhand that may have missed the net but he showed good speed and hands. That trade has looked good since the second it happened!
17 minutes and 40 seconds or so into the 3rd, the Minnesota Wild were on the power play and, as it expired, Matt Boldy was in the right corner beneath the goal line when he received the puck from linemate Marcus Johansson and he skated out to the right half-wall as he surveyed his options then he fired a quick wrist shot while Joel Eriksson Ek was being a nuisance in front of the net and the shot went upper right for the 1st Minnesota Wild goal of the season.
2:09 – Goal – Minnesota – Matt Boldy (1) from Marcus Johansson (1) & Jonas Brodin (1)
Columbus 0 | 1 Minnesota
2nd Period
The Blue Jackets scored 2 minutes into the 2nd to tie the game at 1 on a goal that happened because of at least 2 deflections. A Columbus shot went wide into the right corner & around to the right half-wall & Cole Sillinger beat Wild D Jake Middleton to the loose puck then curled around to the top of the faceoff circle. Wild F Kirill Kaprizov was coming to defend him & to try to take the puck. Sillinger tried a pass to the left point but it went off of Kaprizov’s left skate to the front of the net right to Columbus F Kent Johnson who had his back to the net but he caught the puck with his stick and made a turnaround shot on net. Wild D Jared Spurgeon saw what he was doing so he extended his right leg out to try to block the shot but it ended up deflecting off of Spurgeon’s leg and went up into the left corner of the net.
You know it went off of Spurgeon because of his reaction and because Wild G Filip Gustavsson moved to stop a low shot to the far side.
18:00 – Goal – Columbus – Kent Johnson (1) from Cole Sillinger (1) & Damon Severson (1)
Deflections are tough because they cause the defense to scramble to find the puck, allowing the offense to find open ice for a pass or a rebound off the goalie. Jake Middleton may have been able to end the play by moving his feet to get better position on Sillinger so he could either take the puck from him or get physical with him to force a turnover or a loose puck, especially since he was skating away from the net or with his back to the net.
Columbus 1 | Minnesota 1
About 8 minutes of playing time later, Columbus had some offensive zone time and the puck came back to Damon Severson at the right or right-middle of the blue line & as he was getting ready to shoot, F James Van Riemsdyk was coming out to the front of the net to screen the goalie. As he skated through the crease to get in front of Wild G Filip Gustavsson, he was so close to him that Gustavsson could not play his position and fell trying to make the save to his right. The official was right there but he signaled a good goal. Wild coach John Hynes challenged for Goaltender Interference and it took 5+ minutes to look at the play and overturn the call on the ice. NO GOAL!!!*
*It’s ridiculous why this goal isn’t called No Goal due to goaltender interference! More about it in our Game Notes article coming soon!
We couldn’t find any video of this but it’s at the 4:07 mark of the highlight video embedded at the end of the article.
We did find this explanation on the NHL’s website:
Explanation: Video review determined that Columbus’ James van Riemsdyk made contact with goaltender Filip Gustavsson’s pad that impaired his ability to play his position prior to the goal. The decision was made in accordance with Rule 69.1 which states, in part, that “Goals should be disallowed only if: (1) an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal.”
6 minutes later, the Wild used their forecheck to perfection but Columbus helped out with some weird decisions and soft plays. Blue Jackets D Jack Johnson, in the defensive zone, held the puck then tried to skate away from Marcus Johansson instead of just passing it off the boards right away to his defensive partner who could then make a play to break out of the zone. Instead he passed it to his partner late so he had to just send it up the boards. Wild D Jake Middleton pinched to get to the puck first which he did but he either missed it or slowed it down because he knew Matt Boldy was behind him & James Van Riemsdyk was already pressuring him. Columbus F Adam Fantilli tried to chip the puck past Boldy but he missed it completely and took a huge turn to get back into the play. That forced D Erik Gudbranson to defend Boldy so he passed the puck to Marcus Johansson who was open because Gudranson left him so Jack Johnson, with his stick in the air, went to Johansson which left Joel Eriksson Ek open in the slot and he sniped it into the upper left corner to get the Wild their 1-goal lead back.
3:25 – Goal – Minnesota – Joel Eriksson Ek (1) from Marcus Johansson (1) & Matt Boldy (1)
Columbus 1 | Minnesota 2
Late in the period, Wild F Marco Rossi got a puck at the right half-wall and made a quick backhand pass to Kirill Kaprizov in front of the net for a good scoring chance. With them still being relatively new teammates, we wonder if Kirill didn’t expect that pass because he had to make a turnaround shot which isn’t usually the greatest shot.
3rd Period
About halfway through the 3rd period, the Minnesota Wild were on a power play and they worked the passing to perfection as Boldy fed Mats Zuccarello for a quick catch & shoot but may have been a catch & pass because the puck deflected off of Jack Johnson’s stick and off the inside of Columbus G Elvis Merzlikens right leg and into the net. “Thank you very much!.” in an Elvis voice and dance.
10:02 – Goal – Minnesota – Mats Zuccarello (1) from Matt Boldy (2) & Kirill Kaprizov (1)
Columbus 1 | Minnesota 3
The Wild looked like they had this game won as they kept the forecheck going & were all over them but D Jake Middleton got a delay of game penalty when he accidentally shot the puck over the glass and out of play with
It took Columbus just 16 seconds to score on a one-timer from D Zach Werenski. The face-off ended up going beneath the goal line to Wild G Filip Gustavsson’s right and all 4 Wild penalty killers were there trying to win the puck against 3 Blue Jackets. The puck came around the opposite corner where Columbus F Kent Johnson corralled it and skated across the top of the zone then fed Yegor Chinakhov at the left point and he quickly sent it over to Werenski for a one-timer from the top of the right circle and the low shot may have deflected off Jonas Brodin’s stick to beat Gustavsson and bring the game within a goal with 2:54 remaining in regulation.
10:02 – Goal – Columbus – Zach Werenski (1) from Yegor Chinakhov (1) & Kent Johnson (1)
Columbus 2 | Minnesota 3
Wild F Marcus Foligno gave both of his linemates breakaways in the 3rd but neither of them capitalized on those chances.
The Wild had to battle through until the end and make some key defensive plays and blocked shots to make sure…
Game 1 Was GAME WON!!!
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Final
Columbus Blue Jackets 2 | 3 Minnesota Wild
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Next up:
vs the Seattle Kraken on Saturday at 7 pm on Bally Sports North!
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