Minnesota at Columbus

Columbus handed the Predators their first loss of the season on Wednesday - an impressive win. But that win doesn't cover up the fact that this Blue Jackets team has scored the fewest goals of any team in the league. The Wild have struggled offensively recently but they are playing excellent defense (2.5 goals per game on the road their last five vs. Columbus allowing 3.6). Minnesota usually handles bad teams fairly easily, especially early in the season. Bad home teams off a close home win by 1 goal are just 14-31 over the last 5 seasons. Columbus has yet to post back-to-back victories this year. One star on Minnesota.