PREVIEW: Blue Jackets continue opening road swing vs. Wild 

The NHL is a results-based business, and on that front, the Blue Jackets’ season opener Thursday was a disappointment.

Columbus dropped a 2-1 game at Nashville, but it was a contest in which the Blue Jackets looked fast and on the same page for large portions of the game. They put 38 shots on Predators goalie Juuse Saros and had a big edge in scoring chances, but Saros was up to the task, Columbus had a second-period goal overturned for goalie interference and Nashville got the game’s only power-play tally in the third to earn the win.

Afterward, CBJ head coach Dean Evason saw a lot to like.

“A lot of positives,” he said. “A ton of positives. Obviously their goaltender was real good. We did so many really good things in this hockey game. It’s frustrating, obviously. It’s tough to go in the room and say, ‘Keep doing that. We’re good. We’re fine,’ but the guys know how hard and how well they played.”

Evason had the same thoughts after watching the tape, telling reporters after the team’s practice in St. Paul ahead of tonight’s game vs. Minnesota that the coaching staff liked the way the Blue Jackets played. There are a couple of things to work on – Evason said Columbus played a bit slow and went backwards a few too many times – but by and large, the level of play was impressive for a season opener in the coach’s eyes.

The CBJ players felt the same.

“I thought our game was really good,” Mathieu Olivier said postgame. “It was a very tight game, and that’s just the way it goes sometimes, but as far as the way we played, I don’t think there’s much to look at and not be satisfied with. We played well. Just not satisfied with not getting the two points, but other than that, not a bad performance by our group.”

Facing a Wild team that made the postseason a year ago and started with a shutout victory Thursday, the Blue Jackets will have to be at that level or even better to finish the opening two-game road swing with a win. It won’t be easy to leave St. Paul with points, but the Blue Jackets have to stay the course and get a few pucks to go in the net.

“For the most part I thought we had control of the game, and it was just kind of the way it went last night,” defenseman Dante Fabbro said. “I think if we can continue to build off that and replicate our effort, I think we're gonna put ourselves in a good spot. We have a really hard test tomorrow, so we just have to show up and be ready to play.”

Scratches: Yegor Chinakhov, Jake Christiansen

Injured reserve/Non-Roster: None

Roster Report: Merzlikins is slated to make his first start of the season, while no other changes are expected to the CBJ lineup.

This Day in CBJ History

Oct. 11, 2003: Marc Denis stops 25 shots for the first ever shutout in a CBJ home opener, and the Blue Jackets post a 5-0 win over the New York Rangers at Nationwide Arena. David Vyborny and Darryl Sydor each have a goal and an assist while Rick Nash, Trevor Letowski and Lasse Pirjetä tally for Columbus.

The Numbers Game

Jenner is one goal away from 200 in his NHL career. He would become the third Blue Jacket to reach the mark with the franchise, joining Rick Nash (289) and Cam Atkinson (213). ... Columbus set a franchise record with 267 goals (3.26 per game) last year and tied a franchise record with five players scoring 20-plus goals (Kirill Marchenko, 31; Adam Fantilli 31; Kent Johnson, 24; Zach Werenski, 23; Dmitri Voronkov, 23). ... Marchenko and Fantilli were just the second pair of CBJ teammates to notch 30 goals in the same season (Jenner and Brandon Saad, 2015-16). … Marchenko led the Blue Jackets with eight shots on goal vs. Nashville, tying a career high. ... Monahan’s 57 points (19 goals, 38 assists) are the most ever for a CBJ player in his first 55 games with the franchise. ... Charlie Coyle is four assists shy of 300 in his NHL career, while Monahan is five points from 600 in his career. Defenseman Ivan Provorov is set to play in the 698th game of his NHL career.

Know The Foe: Minnesota Wild

Head coach: John Hynes (Third season)

Team stats (2024-25): Goals per game: 2.74 (25th) | Scoring defense: 2.88 (15th) | PP: 20.9 percent (20th) | PK: 72.4 percent (30th)

The narrative: The Wild made their fifth playoff appearance in the last six seasons, but it ended in familiar fashion – with a first-round loss to Vegas. In fact, Minnesota has eight of the last 10 campaigns but has not won a series in that time, as the Wild seems to be stuck in a perpetual middle ground of being good enough to make the postseason but unable to make an impact once they’re there. Minnesota inked superstar forward Kirill Kaprizov to an eight-year, $17 million AAV contract before the season and hope to build around the dynamic Russian for years to come.

Scoring leaders: In many ways, as Kaprizov goes, the Wild go. One of the faces of the league, Kaprizov went through an injury-marred campaign a year ago and still posted 25 goals and 56 points in 41 games, and he’s averaged 104 points per 82 games the past four seasons. Minnesota also has an impressive core of youngsters to build around in forwards Matt Boldy (27-46-73 last season) and Marco Rossi (24-36-60) as well as standout defenseman Brock Faber (10-19-29). In the team’s opening 5-0 win over St. Louis on Thursday, Kaprizov had three assists, Boldy a 1-2-3 line and Rossi a goal and a helper, while Ryan Hartman scored a pair of goals.

In net: Filip Gustavsson might be one of the more underrated netminders in the league, and the Swede turned in a solid season a year ago in which he went 31-19-6 in 58 starts with a 2.56 GAA and .914 save percentage. He posted 26 saves in Thursday’s opener.

What's new: The move to lock up Kaprizov was by far the biggest of the Wild’s offseason, as otherwise Minnesota made some changes around the edges. The team acquired longtime NHLer Vladimir Tarasenko via trade and signed center Nico Sturm, but he’s begun the season on injured reserve along with forward Mats Zuccarello. Just 21 years old, center Hunter Haight made his NHL debut in the opener, while 2024 first-round pick Zeev Buium has made the squad and could be a difference maker on the back end.

Trending: Columbus' last visit to St. Paul was last year’s season opener, and the Wild claimed a 3-2 victory. Minnesota then captured a 3-1 win nine days later in Columbus to sweep the season series.

Former CBJ: Defenseman David Jiricek was traded to the Wild a season ago and posted three assists in the season opener. Fellow blueliner Daemon Hunt was added on waivers by Minnesota during training camp but was a healthy scratch for the opener.