National Hockey League
Minnesota 3, Columbus 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, October 22, 2015
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Greg Kimmerly, Chris Lee
Linesmen: Mike Cvik, Andy McElman
Attendance: 18650

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- For the Columbus Blue Jackets, there was a very different feel on the bench and a very familiar result on the scoreboard Thursday.

Goals by left wingers Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek and another by right winger Nino Niederreiter kept the Minnesota Wild undefeated at home, and the 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 Wednesday.

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.

"We're 0-8. Moral victories aren't going to help us right now," Tortorella said. "But for a number of minutes, I thought we played hard, I thought we won battles on the wall, played the way I think we're going to have to play to get us out of this, but we come up empty as far as points."

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.

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.

The Wild were fully aware that with a new coach on the other bench, they would get a push from the Blue Jackets.

"I just feel like we talked so much about how hard they were going to come out and how hard they were going to play, I don't know if we psyched ourselves out or what, but it was a pretty ugly start for us," Parise said. "But we were able to turn the page and be a better team in the second period."

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 redirected the puck in front of the goalie.

"He's demanding," Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said of the first game under the notoriously volatile Tortorella. "You can hear him on the bench. But he's teaching, too. You can hear it. It's going to be a work in progress for all of us, but I liked what I saw."

Niederreiter's goal early in the second period tied the score at 2-2. Niederreiter 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.

"We talked before the game about just making sure we were ready for a hard game and sort of being unflappable, and I think that was real important tonight," said Wild coach Mike Yeo, whose team improved to 4-1-1. "Obviously, the first period was not the way we drew it up, but what was important was that we didn't let that get to us. We found our game, we got to it and a big win."

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.
Top Game Performances
 
Columbus   Minnesota
Brandon Dubinsky 1 Points Jared Spurgeon 2
Brandon Dubinsky 1 Goals Nino Niederreiter 1
Cam Atkinson 1 Assists Jared Spurgeon 2
Brandon Dubinsky 1 Power Play Goals Thomas Vanek 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Sergei Bobrovsky .870 Save Percentage Devan Dubnyk .931
Sergei Bobrovsky 20 Saves Devan Dubnyk 27
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Columbus 29 2 1-2 1-2 4 31
Minnesota 23 3 1-2 1-2 4 41
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Anaheim. The Wild have a W/L % of .750 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Columbus will play their next game on the road against Colorado. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.