ST. PAUL, Minn. – On a night when the Minnesota Wild barely had their “A” game against the big, young, feisty Columbus Blue Jackets, they figured out a way to dig up enough good hockey to pull off a 3-2 season opener. realize win.

The second line of Marcus Johansson, Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy consistently and combined delivered two goals in the first two periods as the Wild improved to 17-2-4 all-time in home openers (excluding one regulation loss in what was deemed their home opener in Finland in 2010).

They are now 10-1-1 in the 12 times their first game of the season has been at Xcel Energy Center.

Filip Gustavsson made 31 saves, Boldy had a goal and two assists, Eriksson Ek and Mats Zuccarello scored the other goals, and Johansson had two assists on the night former Wild coach Dean Evason made his debut as Columbus’ coach at his old stomping ground.

Dean looks touched 😂 pic.twitter.com/kvE33g8GvU

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) October 11, 2024

It was an emotional game as Columbus played its first regular season game since the deaths of star winger Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew on August 29. The Wild honored the memory of the Gaudreau brothers with a video tribute before the game and then held a 13-second moment of silence.

It was fitting that Boldy had such a strong game. Boldy, who attended Boston College, idolized Gaudreau as a BC star growing up outside Boston and was honored to line his line at the World Championship in the Czech Republic in May.

Boldy led the tournament in scoring for the United States and assisted on Gaudreau’s last goal, a short-handed goal on May 19 against Kazakhstan.

The Johansson-Eriksson Ek-Boldy line was just great throughout, working together for one highlight on Eriksson Ek’s roll.

Joel Eriksson Ek makes it 2-1 #mnwild lead, the 2nd line keeps buzzing pic.twitter.com/sNL6csmcZm

— Alex Micheletti (@AlexMicheletti) October 11, 2024

The Wild are now on an 8-0-2 point streak against the Blue Jackets.

They then host the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night before hitting the road for a seven-game, 17-day trip, including a rematch in Columbus next weekend.

‘Gus Bus’ looks sharp in debut

The Wild plan to have three goalies for most of this season, although Jesper Wallstedt is expected to spend some time in Iowa and at times be “transferred” to play a player – roster and cap-wise – in their 23-man squad. grid. That first time happened before the season opener so the Wild could recall defenseman Daemon Hunt, who was scratched, as insurance while Declan Chisholm was sick.

But even though the Wild struggled at times on their own and especially in the middle of the ice, Gustavsson was outstanding with 31 saves. Last season, Gustavsson made 41 saves in a season-opening 2-0 win over the Florida Panthers at home.

This is a big year for Gustavsson, who is trying to bounce back after going 20-18-4 last season with a 3.06 goals-against average and .899 save percentage.

From ‘week to week’ to first goal, two assists

The Wild scared fans early in the second week of training camp when they announced that Boldy was “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury suffered on the third day of camp. “Week-to-week” during the second week of an 18-day camp would normally mean his return would kick off a decent chunk of the season, but half an hour later, Wild coach John Hynes made it clear they expected Boldy to be ready would be before the start of the season. the season.

Well, a week after the injury, Boldy was back on the ice, and even though he didn’t play a single preseason game, he was ready for the opener and came through with a multi-point game. Hynes and Bill Guerin have subtly and not so subtly insinuated that this could be the year we see a big breakthrough from a 23-year-old who has combined for 60 goals and 132 points over the last two seasons.

So far, so good.

MAT BOLDY NO-LOOKER 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ngW5mFZWeJ

— Sportnet (@Sportsnet) October 11, 2024

The wild power play continues

It wasn’t the best game for the Wild, but they seemed to wake up after a Blue Jackets power-play goal for a 2-1 lead in the second period was negated when Hynes challenged James van Riemsdyk’s interference with Gustavsson. He did.

The Wild finally got a power play of their own in the third period when Johansson was awarded a cross-checking penalty. The Wild’s power play, which ranked first in the NHL at 52.9 percent during the preseason, scored a sensational goal for a 3-1 lead that became the winner when Zach Werenski scored a late power-play goal.

Minnesota’s top unit, which led the NHL in offensive zone possession on the power play last season, was on the ice for 1:49 and was so weary of the penalty that Zuccarello was able to win a race for the puck for a quick regroup.

Kirill Kaprizov hit Boldy, who slid a blistering pass to Zuccarello for a one-timer and his first goal of the season.

Teamwork makes the dream really work pic.twitter.com/g8UwYD4snq

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 11, 2024

(Photo by Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy: Matt Krohn / Imagn Images)