A losing homestand is in the books.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
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0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
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1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
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CBJ GOALS: |
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Joel Eriksson Ek's two-point night, including his go-ahead goal in the third period, was the difference as the Minnesota Wild beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena.
The Wild have won six straight.
Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov each had a three-point night with a goal and two assists. Yakov Trenin had two assists.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice for the Wild, while Ryan Hartman and Matt Boldy scored. Jesper Wallstedt made 25 saves.
Zach Werenski scored twice for Columbus. Jet Greaves made 22 stops. The Jackets are mired in a 1-5-1 stretch.
The Blue Jackets got back in the win column with Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks. Looking for a second win in a row against the Wild, the Jackets had a chance to make it a .500 homestand after dropping the first two games as they try to climb up the standings.
Things got off to a good start as Werenski buried a pass by Charlie Coyle for the first of his two-goal night.
The Wild responded with two goals in the second period as Hartman and Tarsenko scored 2:45 apart. Werenski scored 1:24 later to tie the game 2-2.
Eriksson Ek put the Wild ahead 3-2 in the third period. Empty net goals by Tarasenko and Boldy salted this one away. Carson Lambos made his NHL debut for the Wild.
"I feel like it's the same thing we've been saying, "Werenski said. "We're playing well enough to win, but it's getting old that we keep losing. Enough is enough. It's unacceptable.
"At the end of the day, this is getting outrageous. We're a good hockey team, and we're just losing games. So maybe we're not a good hockey team. I don't know."
Here's how the Blue Jackets lost out on two points:
1st Period:
Werenski left the bench after his first shift to begin the game after blocking a shot that left him in visible discomfort as he was slow to skate to the bench. He returned shortly after.
(15:20 — CBJ Goal): Naturally, he scored. The tally, Werenski's 12th, gave Columbus the 1-0 lead. Coyle (16) and Cole Sillinger (12) picked up the assist.
Z is back indeed. 12-game home point streak, four-game point streak overall. 12 goals for Werenski. Coyle (16) and Sillinger (12) with the assists. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/wfoJT0NpWV
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 19, 2025
2nd Period:
Similar to the first period, Werenski went back down the tunnel after his first shift of the second period but returned.
(13:30 — MIN Goal): Hartman's seventh on the power play tied it 1-1. Kaprizov (18) and Brock Faber (13) got the assists.
#Wild 1 @ #BlueJackets 1 [P2-6:30]:
— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalsVideo) December 19, 2025
Goal: Ryan Hartman (7)
6' Game-Tying Power-Play Tip-In
Assists: K.Kaprizov (18), B.Faber (13)#MNWild #CBJ #NHL pic.twitter.com/YTyaXw5HLD
(16:15 — MIN Goal): Tarasenko's sixth put Minnesota ahead 2-1. The assists went to Trenin (7) and Danila Yurov (8).
#Wild 2 @ #BlueJackets 1 [P2-3:45]:
— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalsVideo) December 19, 2025
Goal: Vladimir Tarasenko (6)
22' Lead-Taking Wrister
Assists: Y.Trenin (7), D.Yurov (8)#MNWild #CBJ #NHL pic.twitter.com/13L6ETzgxC
(17:39 — CBJ Goal): Werenski's second of the night, his fourth in the last two games, knotted things up 2-2. The goal was unassisted.
pic.twitter.com/lxIhbdQUYp #CBJ 13th for Werenski.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 19, 2025
3rd Period:
(11:50 — MIN Goal): Eriksson Ek's eighth put Minnesota back ahead 3-2. He’s on a six-game point streak (four goals, six assists). Trenin (8) and Boldy (20) had the assists.
JOEL ERIKSSON EK!!
— brendan durand (6-8) (20-9-5) (@Bdurand_16) December 19, 2025
9 points in 6 games for Ek and he just stands in the crease and hammers the puck 2 or 3 times until it crosses the goal line! Great board battle from Boldy to get puck out front.#mnwild 3#cbj 2
Shots 24-22 Wild
Arena is silent
pic.twitter.com/X9LKMQUSOk
| MIN | GAME STATS | CBJ |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | SHOTS | 28 |
| 35.8% | FACEOFFS | 64.2% |
| 1/1 | POWER PLAY | 0/2 |
| 2/2 | PENALTY KILL | 0/1 |
| 14 | HITS | 25 |
| 20 | GIVEAWAYS | 16 |
| 5 | TAKEAWAYS | 5 |
| 18 | BLOCKED SHOTS | 12 |
| ALL SITUATIONS ADVANCED STATS | ||
| 3.34 | EXPECTED GOALS | 2.49 |
| 58 | SHOT ATTEMPTS | 64 |
| 31 | SCORING CHANCES | 32 |
| 9 | HIGH-DANGER CHANCES | 8 |
| Data via NHL.com & NaturalStatTrick.com | ||
Stat Chat:
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With two goals, Werenski extended his 12-game home point streak (10 goals, 13 assists). Overall, he's on a four-game point streak (four goals, four assists).
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Werenski is the first defenseman in Blue Jackets franchise history to score multiple goals in consecutive games.
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Entering play, the winning team in the series had scored three goals or fewer in six of the previous nine games.
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Since starting the season 3-6-3, the Wild are 18-3-2 in their last 23 games.
- Columbus defeated the Wild 7-4 on Oct. 11 in St. Paul. The Blue Jackets haven't swept a season series from the Wild since the 2016-17 season.
Up Next:
The Blue Jackets head out west to play the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, Dec. 20, at Honda Center. Puck drop is set for 10 p.m.
