Game Preview: Wild vs. Blue Jackets

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild hosts its Home Opener tonight, inviting the Blue Jackets to do battle for the first regular season game played at the recently-renamed Grand Casino Arena.

Minnesota returns to Saint Paul hot on the heels of a season-opening 5-0 shutout win over the Blues on Thursday. The shutout was G Filip Gustavsson's second season-opening shutout (also Oct. 12, 2023). The goaltender is the first in Wild history to post a shutout in two season opening matches.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Saturday, October 11th at 7:00 p.m. CT
• Where: Grand Casino Arena (St. Paul, Minnesota)
• Tickets: Buy Now
• Watch: FanDuel Sports North
• Listen: KOOL 108 FM
• Gamecenter: Wild vs. Blue Jackets

Traffic Alert!

Coming to tonight's game? Read up on road closures around the Twin Cities and plan your route to Grand Casino Arena early.

Wild Record: 1-0-0

Blue Jackets Record: 0-1-0

2024-25 Series Record: 2-0-0

All-Time Wild Record: 35-22-11 (22-7-6 at Grand Casino Arena)

Last Time Out

Last Season on Wild vs. Blue Jackets

Minnesota went 2-0-0 against Columbus. Minnesota won the series opening game, 3-2, in St. Paul (10/10) and completed the season sweep with a 3-1 win in Columbus (10/19).

LW Matt Boldy led the Wild with four points (1- 3=4). LW Kirill Kaprizov had three points (1-2=3). LW Marcus Johansson (0- 2=2) and RW Mats Zuccarello (0-2=2) had two points each. Gustavsson went 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and a .947 SV%.

LW Kent Johnson (1-1=2) and RW Yegor Ghinako (1-1=2) led the Blue Jackets with two points each. D Zach Werenski also scored for Columbus (1-0=1). G Elvis Merzlikins saved 23-of-26 shots faced in the first game and G Daniil Tarasov stopped 31-of-34 shots faced in the second game.

Wild Leaders Against Blue Jackets

• RW Vladimir Tarasenko leads Minnesota with 27 points (14- 13=27) in 25 career games against the Blue Jackets
• Johansson has 24 points (10-14=24) in 35 career games
• Zuccarello has 20 points (10-10=20) in 33 games
• D Jared Spurgeon owns 13 points (2-11=13) in 26 matches
• C Ryan Hartman has 11 points (1-10=11) in 16 games

Blue Jackets Leaders Against Wild

• C Sean Monahan leads Columbus with 15 points (6-9=15) in 31 games
• D Damon Severson owns eight assists (0-8=8) in 19 games
• D Zach Werenski owns six points (4-2=6) in 13 games
• C Cole Sillinger has five points (3-2=5) in seven games

Connections

• C Charlie Coyle recorded 242 points (91-151=242) in 479 games across seven seasons (2012-19) with the Wild
• Wild D David Jiříček was selected by Columbus in the first round (No. 6 overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft and collected 11 points (1-10=11) in 53 games over parts of three seasons (2022-25)
• Wild D Daemon Hunt played 48 games with Columbus’s primary affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, in 2024-25
• Columbus Head Coach Dean Evason spent parts of five seasons as the Head Coach of Minnesota, posting a 147-77-27 record in 251 games (2020-23)
• Columbus Goalie Coach Niklas Backstrom went 194-142-50 in 409 career games with Minnesota (2006-15). He is the franchise leader in games played and wins

Fast Facts

• Minnesota is on a 11-game point streak (9-0-2) vs. Columbus, its longest-ever point streak against the Blue Jackets, and has earned points in 19 of its last 25 meetings (14-6-5)
• The Wild is 9-5-2 in its last 16 games at Nationwide Arena and 12-4-5 in the last 21 games at Grand Casino Arena
• 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

What You Missed This Summer on Wild Hockey

• Minnesota Wild Unveils 25th Anniversary Jersey and Theme Nights | September 25, 2025
• Minnesota Wild Signs Kirill Kaprizov to an Eight-year Contract Extension | September 30, 2025
• Minnesota Wild Signs Filip Gustavsson to a Five-year Contract Extension | October 4, 2025

For more information on today's matchup, check out the game notes below.