COLUMBUS, Ohio — The NHL regular season resumes Tuesday night for
the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild after a break for
NHL All-Star Game weekend.
Both teams are hoping to return to the playoffs in April, but
there’s plenty of work to be done before reaching that point.
The Blue Jackets (27-19-5) and the Wild (26-18-5) have struggled
with consistency all year.
For Minnesota, it’s a tale of two different teams at home and away.
The Wild have one of the league’s best records at home and one of
the worst on the road.
Jason Zucker and the Minnesota Wild return from the All Star Break tonight in Columbus
After a 6-3 loss in Pittsburgh last Thursday immediately before the
break, the Wild fell to 9-14-1 away from home. Compare that with a
17-4-4 record in the Xcel Energy Center and the disparity is
striking.
That doesn’t bode particularly well for the Wild in their visit to
Nationwide Arena.
“It’s hard to put a finger on it,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said.
“We’re one of the best teams at home and one of the worst teams on
the road. We have to find a way to get the road side better because
we have some tough road buildings to go to and we can’t afford to
go in like this.”
Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk believes it’s all about the
quality of play at the start of games.
“There are a lot of teams that are good in their own building that
are going to give you a good push at the drop of the puck and
sometimes you have to embrace that and just play simple,” he said.
“Let them come at you, stay simple, get to your game.
“When you try to do too much and turn pucks over, that is when it
starts to feel out of control. You just have to keep it as simple
as you can until you start to feel good, and I don’t think we have
done a good job at that.”
The Wild have relied on veteran center Eric Staal, who leads the
team with 20 goals and 43 points after scoring once in the loss to
the Penguins. He is back with the team after participating in his
first NHL All-Star Game since 2011.
The Blue Jackets’ lone all-star representative was defenseman Zach
Werenski, who replaced Seth Jones on the Metropolitan roster. Jones
became ill during Columbus’ 2-1 at Arizona on Thursday night, which
came two days after the Blue Jackets were drilled in Las Vegas by
the Golden Knights.
Werenski practiced with the team on Monday after returning from his
weekend in Tampa. Teammate Brandon Dubinsky was one of the first
players on the ice.
Dubinsky left the team last week in Las Vegas and came home before
he was scheduled to play against the Coyotes on Thursday after a
six-week absence while a facial fracture healed.
There were questions about whether Dubinsky’s departure was for
disciplinary reasons. He denied that Monday.
“I had to deal with some stuff, some medical issues for myself,” he
said. “It’s nice to be back at practice and have the opportunity to
try to play more.”
Also back from injury is forward Cam Atkinson, who scored the
winning goal at Arizona in his first game since missing a month
with a broken foot. His return could help jump-start the Blue
Jackets’ sluggish offense.
Even though the Blue Jackets have not been able to sustain their
level of play through the first four months of the season, they’re
still in second place in the Metropolitan Division, six points
behind the Washington Capitals.
“We’re still working through some guys just not having great
years,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “It’s going to go
one way or the other. It’s going to pile up on you or it’s going to
help you get some confidence. You can only get that done through
games and not practices.”