Columbus @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 19, 2019 ) Columbus 1, Minnesota 2

The Columbus Blue Jackets suffered two more injuries, but put an end to an eight-game losing streak on trade deadline day and aim to make it two in a row 24 hours later when they visit the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night. The Blue Jackets were 0-3-5 in their previous eight games before Emil Bemstrom scored late in overtime for a 4-3 victory over Ottawa on Monday to move into one of the two wild-card positions in the Eastern Conference.

Columbus lost forward Riley Nash and goalie Elvis Merzlikins to upper-body ailments in Monday’s victory before Joonas Korpisalo returned from a near two-month absence because of a knee injury to stop 14-of-15 shots for the Blue Jackets, who already have nine regulars out injured. Columbus, which will host the Wild on Friday, made a minor deal at the deadline acquiring Devin Shore from Anaheim for fellow forward Sonny Milano while Minnesota stood pat after making a big move earlier this month by trading Jason Zucker for Alex Galchenyuk and futures. “I’m not disappointed. Not at all,” Wild general manager Bill Guerin told reporters after the deadline came. “I’m actually kind of excited to see what this group can do. … We felt we made our move a couple weeks go with the Zucker trade, and now the ball’s in (the players’) court and (we will) see how they do.” Minnesota is five points out of playoff position in the Western Conference after Sunday’s 4-1 loss to St. Louis with multiple games in hand on the top three teams in the wild card race.

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: FS Ohio, FS North

ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (31-19-14): Captain Nick Foligno scored twice Monday and has four points in his last three games while Stefan Matteau scored the tying goal in the third period - his third point in three games since being recalled. Center Pierre-Luc Dubois added an assist to push his team-leading total to 45 points and Gustav Nyquist matched him improve to 38, but neither of the club’s top two scorers has a goal in the last 11 games. Korpisalo, who had not played an NHL contest since Dec. 29, earned his 18th victory Monday and owns a .914 save percentage overall, while Merzlikins is 0-3-4 in his last seven decisions.

ABOUT THE WILD (29-25-7): Minnesota has split four games since Dean Evason replaced Bruce Boudreau as coach and Guerin told reporters: “We can beat anyone on a given night. I think (Evason has) done a good job with the current roster. The guys seem energized. They’ve played well, they’ve played hard for him and we’re expecting good things.” Leading goal scorer Zach Parise, who’s name was in rumors Monday, leads the team with 21 goals while All-Star center Eric Staal tops the club with 42 points but has not scored a goal in 11 games. Goalie Alex Stalock (team-high 15 wins) is 4-1-1 with a solid .930 SP in February.

OVERTIME

1. Galchenyuk has a goal and two assists with a plus-1 rating in six games since being acquired from Pittsburgh.

2. Columbus C Boone Jenner has registered a goal, three assists, 11 shots and a plus-3 rating during a three-game point streak.

3. The Wild are 0-for-13 on the power play over the last five games while going 14-for-14 on the penalty kill over the past six outings.

PREDICTION: Wild 4, Blue Jackets 2