Wild Warmup: Minnesota vs. Columbus

The essentials

The opponent

The Columbus Blue Jackets improved to 3-1-0 with a 3-1 win over the New York Rangers at Nationwide Arena on Friday night. Defenseman Seth Jones had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets, and offseason trade acquisition Artemi Panarin scored his first goal with his new team. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 37 of 38 shots faced for his third victory.
Saturday's game will mark the second consecutive weekend the Blue Jackets have played a Friday-Saturday doubleheader. The Jackets won 5-0 against the New York Islanders on Oct. 6 in Columbus before dropping a 5-1 decision the following night in Chicago.

Connections

• Wild defenseman Kyle Quincey recorded three points (2-1=3) in 20 games with Columbus during the 2016-17 season.
• Blue Jackets forward Zac Dalpe played in nine games with Minnesota in two seasons before being claimed off waivers by Columbus on Feb. 27, 2017.
• Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno is Wild forward Marcus Foligno's older brother.

Bringing in reinforcements

After
injuries
to Charlie Coyle (right fibula fracture), Nino Niederreiter (high left ankle sprain) and Marcus Foligno (left facial fracture) Thursday night at Chicago,the Wild recalled forwards Luke Kunin, Christoph Bertschy, Landon Ferraro and Zack Mitchell from Iowa on Friday. All four are expected to suit up Saturday night.
It will be the NHL debut for Kunin, the Wild's first-round draft pick (15th overall) in 2016.
Coyle has been placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. Niederreiter was put on Injured Reserve and will likely be out at least three weeks. Foligno is expected to miss a week at minimum.
To make room on the roster, Minnesota assigned Mike Reilly to the AHL club. The defenseman has tallied two assist in three games with Minnesota this season, averaging 11:19 in time on ice per game.
Forwards Mikael Granlund (groin) and Zach Parise (undisclosed injury) remain out of the lineup and are expected to miss at least another week.

Home sweet home

The Wild plays its 17th home opener Saturday, the seventh time the game has not coincided as the Wild's season opener. Minnesota is 14-0-2 in its first game of the season at Xcel Energy Center all-time -- including a tie in its first- ever home game.
Minnesota posted a 27-12-2 record at Xcel Energy Center last season, the second-most home wins in a season in team history (29 in 2006-07). The Wild set home-ice franchise records for most goals in a season, outscoring opponents 137-93, and highest power-play percentage with a conversion rate of 27.4 percent (31-of-113).
Saturday's game is Minnesota's only home contest in its first six games of the season.