Wild Welcome Wobbly Blue Jackets to a Perfect Home Barn
Columbus is still hunting its first road win, and Minnesota's patched-up blue line gets another test from Werenski and Fantilli.
Written before the game
Minnesota has been the better team at both ends of the ice this October, and the gap is wider than the standings suggest. The Wild have been creating more dangerous looks than they give up, while Columbus has been giving away more than it creates.
The evidence: the Wild's chances have been worth 3.71 expected goals a night (expected goals measure how many goals a team's chances should produce), against 3.31 allowed. The Blue Jackets generate chances worth 2.93 and concede 3.26. Columbus also faces more shot attempts than it takes, while Minnesota tilts the ice its way.
The standings match the eye test. Minnesota is 5-2-1, third in the Central and fifth in the West, and a perfect 3-0-0 at home. Columbus sits 3-3-0, seventh in the Metropolitan, and has yet to win on the road (0-1-0).
The Wild's blue line is the question mark, with Jared Spurgeon, Olli Määttä and Brock Faber sidelined. Kirill Kaprizov and Quinn Hughes missed practice time but are expected to play. For Columbus, Zach Werenski, Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson need to find chances against that reshuffled defence.
