MINNESOTA WILD NOTES:
SERIES NOTES
GAME BROADCASTS
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
All-Time Wild Record: 30-22-10 (20-7-5 at Xcel Energy Center, 10-15-5 at Columbus)
2021-22: Minnesota went 1-0-1 against Columbus…The Wild earned a point in a 3-2 shootout loss at Nationwide Arena (3/11) and won 3-2 at Xcel Energy Center (3/26)…LW Kirill Kaprizov (3-0=3), RW Mats Zuccarello (1-2=3) and LW Kevin Fiala (0-3=3) led the Wild with three points each…D Jared Spurgeon recorded two points (1-1=2)…G Kaapo Kahkonen made 26 saves in the first contest…G Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves in the second meeting…D Jake Bean led the Blue Jackets with two points (1-1=2)…RW Yegor Chinakhov, RW Jakub Voracek and D Zach Werenski scored a goal…G Elvis Merzlikins went 1-0-1 with a 2.40 GAA and a .934 SV% in two starts.
WILD LEADERS: Zuccarello leads Minnesota with 15 points (7-8=15) in 27 games vs. Columbus…Spurgeon owns 12 points (1-11=12) in 23 matches…D Alex Goligoski owns 11 points (4-7=11) in 26 contests…C Ryan Hartman (1-6=7) has seven points in 11 games.
WILD GOALIES: Fleury is 12-7-2 with a 2.42 GAA and a .919 SV% in 23 career games (21 starts) vs. the Blue Jackets…G Filip Gustavsson is 1-0-0 with a 0.92 GAA and a .971 SV% in one start (4/22/22).
BLUE JACKETS LEADERS: LW Johnny Gaudreau has tallied 20 points (4-16=20) in 20 games vs. Minnesota…Voracek owns 20 points (4-6=20) in 26 contests…LW Gustav Nyquist has 17 points (6-11=17) in 19 matches…LW Patrik Laine owns 15 points (10-5=15) in 19 games.
BLUE JACKETS GOALIES: G Joonas Korpisalo is 0-1-0 with a 7.38 GAA and a .733 SV% in his only career start against the Wild (2/28/20)… Merzlikins is 1-0-1 with a 2.40 GAA and a .934 SV% in two starts.
FAST FACTS: Minnesota has earned points in 13 of its last 19 meetings against Columbus (9-6-4), including a 5-1-2 record in the last eight contests…The Wild is 6-5-2 in its last 13 games at Nationwide Arena and 10-4-4 in the last 18 games at Xcel Energy Center…The Wild (12-game win streak) vs. Blue Jackets (14-game win streak) game on Dec. 31, 2016, marked the first time two teams faced each other while holding win streaks of at least 12 games in the history of the NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL, MLS and WNBA.
ON THE POWER PLAY
• The Wild has converted 28.4 percent (27 of 95) of power-play opportunities at home this season, fifth-best in the NHL.
• Since Jan. 19, Minnesota ranks second in the NHL with 12 power-play goals. Minnesota is 12-for-46 (26.1%) with the man advantage during that span, scoring a power-play goal in 11 of 14 contests.
PENALTY KILLERS
• The Wild has killed 21 consecutive shorthanded situations and has not allowed a power-play goal in a season-high eight consecutive games dating back to Feb. 8 at DAL.
• For the season, the Wild is tied for seventh in the NHL with a 81.8 penalty-kill percentage (153 for 187).
• Since Nov. 8, Minnesota is third in the NHL with a 83.7 penalty-kill percentage (128 for 153).
• Minnesota is tied for sixth in the NHL with a 82.1 penalty-kill percentage (78 of 95) on the road this season
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS NOTES:
Feb. 23, 2023 Game No. 58 (18-34-5, 41 pts.)
vs. Minnesota Wild (31-21-5, 67 pts.), Nationwide Arena Home Game No. 32 (12-17-2, 26 pts.)
The Blue Jackets Press Box website, which includes game notes, stats, releases and video/audio clips as well as the 2022-23 Media Guide can be accessed at bluejackets.com/pressbox. Follow @BlueJacketsPR on Twitter for comprehensive information and updates on the team.
THE LAST GAME: FEB. 19, 2023 – CBJ 2 at ARI 3 (OT)
CBJ Goal Scorers: Jenner (17), PP – Laine (16)
ARI Goal Scorers: Boyd (8), Schmaltz (15), OT – Hayton (8)
Goalies: CBJ – Merzlikins (22/25; 62:00); ARI – Ingram (34/36; 62:00)
CBJ PP: 1/3; PK: 1/1 | Shots: CBJ: 36 / ARI: 25
3 Stars: 1. Hayton, ARI; 2. Schmaltz, ARI; 3. Boyd, ARI
Noteworthy: CBJ concluded season series vs. ARI (CBJ; 0-1-1)… CBJ trailed 2-0 after the 1st period, but scored a goal in both the 2nd and 3rd periods to tie the game at 2… ARI scored 2 minutes into OT to win… Boqvist recorded his 13th assist of the season to set a new career high with points in 4-straight games (2-3-5)… Jenner notched his 7th multi-point game of the campaign (1-1-2), including scoring his team-leading 17th goal of the season… Laine scored a goal to give him 2-2-4 in his past 4 games… Kuraly recorded a single-game career high and team-high in hits (10)… Olivier skated in his 100th career NHL game.
OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT
Danforth (torn labrum); Placed on Injured Reserve (Oct. 25); 6 months (51 games)
Voracek (concussion); Placed on Injured Reserve (Nov. 4); out indefinitely (46 games)
Werenski (torn labrum); Placed on Injured Reserve (retro to Nov. 10); rest of regular season (44 games)
Bean (shoulder); Placed on IR (retro to Nov. 15); out indefinitely (42 games)
Chinakhov (ankle); Placed on IR (Dec. 20); 4 weeks (26 games)
Meyer (oblique strain); Placed on IR (Jan. 11); 6-8 weeks (17 games)
Nyquist (shoulder); Placed on IR (Jan. 28); out indefinitely (9 games)
Gaudreau (lower body); day-to-day (2 games)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 391
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Feb. 9 Recalled Berni from Cleveland (AHL)
Feb. 1 Assigned Berni and Bjork to Cleveland (AHL)
Jan. 30 Recalled Bjork from Cleveland (AHL) and assigned Christiansen to Cleveland (AHL)
Jan. 28 Placed Nyquist on Injured Reserve and claimed Pederson off waivers from Vancouver
Jan. 28 Recalled Christiansen from Cleveland (AHL)
Jan. 20 Assigned Tarasov to Cleveland (AHL)
Jan. 14 Activated Jenner, Robinson and Tarasov off Injured Reserve and assigned Bjork to Cleveland (AHL)
Jan. 13 Assigned Greaves and Fix-Wolansky to Cleveland (AHL)
TONIGHT’S GAME BROADCAST INFO
7:00pm ET | Bally Sports Ohio | 105.7 FM
AGAINST THE WILD
2022-23 Series: 0-0-0 (0-0-0 vs. MIN)
2021-22 Series: 1-0-1 (1-0-0 vs. MIN)
All-Time Series: 31-25-1-5 (19-9-1-1 vs. MIN)
Last 10 (Overall | Home): 5-3-2 | 6-3-1
All-Time GF/GA: 148/152
All-Time SF/SA: 1,726/1,784
All-Time PP: 36-of-218
All-Time PK: 219-of-260
THE LAST GAME VS. MIN: MAR. 26, 2022 – CBJ 2 at MIN 3 (OT)
CBJ Goal Scorers: Bean (5), Voracek (5)
MIN Goal Scorers: PP – Kaprizov (34), Kaprizov (35), OT – Spurgeon (6)
Goalies: CBJ – Merzlikins (35/38; 61:24); MIN – Fleury (23/25; 60:03)
CBJ PP: 0/2; PK: 1/2 | Shots: CBJ: 25 / MIN: 38
3 Stars: 1. Spurgeon, MIN; 2. Kaprizov, MIN; 3. Fleury, MIN
Noteworthy: Teams split season series with each team winning after regulation at home… CBJ lost 2nd-straight game in OT… CBJ led 2-1 after 2nd period but MIN tied game with 1:03 remaining… Roslovic tallied an assist for 2nd consecutive game… Voracek extended points streak to 5-straight games with a goal (2-3-5).
SEASON SERIES LEFT: Feb. 26 at MIN
NOTED (Team Highlights vs. MIN)
CBJ and MIN both debuted in 2000-01… CBJ have picked up points in 12 of the last 17 meetings dating back to Apr. 13, 2013 (10-5-2)… Home team won each game after regulation (CBJ in SO) in 2021-22 and has registered points in 8 of the last 9 meetings since Mar. 2, 2017 (6-1-2)… CBJ are 5-2-1 in the last 8 home contests and 9-5-1 in the past 15 games at NWA… CBJ have scored PPG in 3 of the last 4 home games of the series (3-of-11; 27.3 pct.)… 7 of the last 9 games in the series have been decided by a single goal… CBJ owns 7 of the 11 shutouts in the series… Most goals scored vs. MIN: 5 – 2x (MR: 11/25/06)… Most goals allowed vs. MIN: 6 (4/11/09).
NOTED (Player Highlights vs. MIN)
Nyquist made his NHL debut on 11/1/11 vs. MIN.
SCORING NOTABLES vs. MIN
• Gaudreau – 4-16-20 in 20 career GP, including points in all but 6 of his career contests, points in 5-straight games played overall (2-6-8) and each of his last 7 home contests against Minnesota (1-7-8)
• Laine – 10-5-15 in 19 career GP, including 7-4-11 in 9 career home games against the club
• Merzlikins – 1-0-1 record with a 2.40 GAA and .934 SV% in 2 career PG, including stopping 35-plus shots in both contests of the series in 2021-22 (36-of-38 for .947 SV% and 1.88 GAA on Mar. 11 vs. Minnesota)
A LOOK AHEAD
The Blue Jackets went 2-1-1 last week, including picking up points in each of their last three games (2-0-1) after registering a point in a 3-2 overtime loss at Arizona on Sunday. The club is now 5-4-3 in the past 12 contests and has registered points in four of its last five contests (3-1-1) with wins against three of the top-10 teams in the League (Toronto-4th; Dallas-8th; Winnipeg- 9th-T). Columbus plays three back-to-back sets in the month of February (Feb. 10 vs. TOR/Feb. 11 at TOR; Feb. 18 at DAL/Feb. 19 at ARI; Feb. 25 vs. EDM/Feb. 26 at MIN). Thursday’s game against the Jets kicked off a stretch of six-straight games against the Western Conference for the Blue Jackets. The stretch that runs from February 16-26, includes four consecutive contests against the Central Division.
