ST PAUL -G oals by left wingers Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek, and another by right winger Nino Niederreiter, kept the Minnesota Wild undefeated at home, and the Columbus Blue Jackets winless anywhere.
Trailing in the second period, the Wild rallied for a 3-2 win, as Columbus fell to 0-8-0, losing its first game under new coach John Tortorella after former coach Todd Richards was fired earlier in the week.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves for the Blue Jackets, who got first period goals from centers Alexander Wennberg and Brandon Dubinsky to take a 2-1 lead, but were held without a goal in the final two frames.
Goalie Devan Dubnyk made 27 saves for the Wild.
Columbus dominated in shots early, but Minnesota made the first mark on the scoreboard. Wild defenseman Ryan Suter grabbed a no-look clearing attempt by Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson at the blue line and took the puck deep into the left corner. With Parise crashing to the net, Suter zipped a pass to the top of the crease for a tap-in goal.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Blue Jackets tied it at 1-1 midway through the opening period when Wennberg’s shot from a wide angle deflected off Dubnyk’s right leg pad and in. It was the first goal of the season for Wennberg, who scored four times last season as a rookie.
Dubinsky scored on a power play with 20.2 seconds remaining in the opening period to put Columbus up 2-1, tapping the puck into a gaping net with Dubnyk out of position after right winger Cam Atkinson re-directed the puck in front of the goalie.
Niederreiter’s goal early in the second period re-tied the game at 2-2, after he settled down the rebound of a long-range shot by defenseman Jared Spurgeon and slapped a shot between Bobrovsky’s knees.
When Columbus defenseman Cody Goloubef took two penalties on the same shift, giving Minnesota a four-minute power play, Vanek cashed in to give the Wild a 3-2 lead, deflecting a shot by left winger Jason Zucker behind the Blue Jackets goalie.
Notes: The 0-8-0 start by Columbus is well short of the NHL record for season-opening futility. At the start of the 1943-44 campaign, the New York Rangers went 0-11-0, finally earning a tie in their 12th game. New York finished a dismal 6-39-5 that season. ... By scoring at Arizona last week, Wild LW Thomas Vanek became the first University of Minnesota product to crack the 300 career goal mark. Local fans of the Gophers’ rivals were quick to point out that Minnesota Duluth product Brett Hull retired with 741 career goals. ... Todd Richards, fired Wednesday as coach of the Blue Jackets, won 127 games in Columbus over parts of five seasons, making him the franchise’s all-time winningest coach. ... This was the fourth time in their first six games this season that the Wild faced a previously winless team.
Minnesota 3, Columbus 2
Columbus 2 0 0- 2
Minnesota 1 2 0- 3
First Period-1, Minnesota, Parise 6 (Suter) 5:04. 2, Columbus, Wennberg 1 (Goloubef, Atkinson) 10:16. 3, Columbus, Dubinsky 2 (Atkinson, Murray) 19:39 (pp).
Second Period-4, Minnesota, Niederreiter 3 (Spurgeon, Koivu) 5:41. 5, Minnesota, Vanek 3 (Zucker, Spurgeon) 11:12 (pp).
Third Period-
Shots on Goal-Columbus 13-9-7-29. Minnesota 6-13-4-23.
Power-play opportunities-Columbus 1 of 2. Minnesota 1 of 2.
Goalies-Columbus Bobrovsky 0-6-0 (23 shots-20 saves). Minnesota Dubnyk 4-1-0 (29-27).
A-18,650 (18,064). T-2:31.
