Kirill Marchenko scored three times for his fourth career NHL hat trick and Elvis Merzlikins made an outstanding 48 saves as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Minnesota Wild 7-4 on Saturday night in St. Paul.
Here are the three things to take away from Columbus' first win of the season:
THING ONE: Marchenko With Another Big Night
In Thursday's season opening loss to the Nashville Predators, Marchenko had eight shots on goal and certainly would've found the back of the net at least once if not for the phenomenal play of Preds goalie Juuse Saros.
But for as good as he was Thursday, Marchenko was even better Saturday night and this time the hard work paid off in the form of another NHL hat trick.
The first goal came just seven seconds into the second period, a franchise record for the fastest goal to start a period. He raced up the middle of the slot and fired a wrister past Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson to put the Blue Jackets up 2-0.
His second goal of the night came in the final two minutes of the middle frame to put Columbus in front 3-2.
Marchenko completed the hat trick just over three minutes into the third period while the Blue Jackets were on their first 5-on-3 advantage of the season.
You've perhaps seen Kirill Marchenko's hatty goal already.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 12, 2025
But you can't see it enough. Here it is again. #CBJpic.twitter.com/9YN36lDiAA
“I just know I will score if I have a lot of shots,” said Marchenko, putting it simply.
He finished with four shots on goal for the game.
THING TWO: Merzlikins Comes Up Big In Five-On-Five Play
It's not often that a goalie gives up four goals and is still named the Second Star of the night, but that was the case for Merzlikins in the win.
The Latvian netminder faced 52 shots and his .923 save percentage is even more impressive when you consider that all four Minnesota goals came on the power play.
In fact, Merzlikins finished the night stopping all 35 shots he faced at even strength (plus one short-handed), including several big saves early to help keep a ruckus Minnesota crowd at bay.
The Wild's 14 shots in the first period was their fewest in any of the three periods, but was more than Columbus had in any single period of the night.
No final determination has been made as of Sunday morning as to who gets the start Monday night in the home opener against the New Jersey Devils, but if it's Merzlikins, it will have been well-earned.
THING THREE: Cool, Calm, and Collected When It Mattered
There were a lot of penalties — Minnesota had eight total power plays and a pair of five-on-three's — but when it mattered most, the Blue Jackets were on their game in keeping the puck out of their net and not letting momentum swing to the Wild.
That was not unnoticed by head coach Dean Evason.
“We really liked our composure,” said Evason. “Maybe I didn’t hold it as well as the players did, but they did a real good job of holding their composure, certainly early in that hockey game when we could have gone sideways when they scored their first two.”
Up Next:
The Blue Jackets will travel back to Columbus for the Monday night home opener against the New Jersey Devils. With the pre-game festivities, look for the first puck to drop around 7:15 p.m.
