National Hockey League
Columbus 5, Minnesota 4
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, October 14, 2017
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Ghislain Hebert, Tom Kowal
Linesmen: Trent Knorr, Bryan Pancich
Attendance: 19064

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- In the early days of the season, the injuries have just kept coming for the Minnesota Wild.

And on Saturday, the Columbus Blue Jackets just kept coming back.

Alexander Wennberg scored 47 seconds into overtime as the Blue Jackets won for the second time in as many nights, after twice rallying from two goals down for a 5-4 victory over the Wild.

Columbus (4-1-0) got regulation goals from Zach Werenski, David Savard, Cam Atkinson and Josh Anderson, and Sergei Bobrovsky had 17 saves.

"You don't want to draw it up this way, but it's all good," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "We've got a good group of guys. They hung in there together, they didn't panic and they grinded out a win so I'm pleased about that."

Tyler Ennis scored twice, and Eric Staal and Landon Ferraro had goals for the injury-riddled Wild (1-1-2), who got 30 saves from Devan Dubnyk. The Wild are 14-0-3 all-time in their home opener.

Bobrovsky stopped a Staal breakaway early, but Staal solved the Columbus goalie later in the first period, popping a wrist shot over Bobrovsky's left shoulder.

"I was hoping to sneak it under the blocker there, but he made a good save," Staal said of the breakaway. "I kind of got him leaning again the second time and was able to get it upstairs. It was nice to get that one on the board and kind of get it going, but it doesn't mean much now."

Werenski answered only 35 seconds later for the Blue Jackets, firing a shot with Dubnyk out of position after a cross-ice pass from Wennberg for a 1-1 tie after 20 minutes.

The Wild were playing with four call-ups from their Iowa AHL team after five of their regular forwards missed the game with various ailments. The new arrivals included Ferraro, who had not played a NHL game in more than a year, and Luke Kunin, the former University of Wisconsin star who was making his NHL debut.

"You could tell they were really nervous in the beginning, in the first period," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said of the many new faces in his lineup. "I thought they settled down. Heck, they scored a goal. As ugly a goal as it was, it's still a goal, and they didn't get scored on."

The Wild scored on their first power play early in the second period when Ennis' long shot through traffic fooled Bobrovsky low on the stick side. It was his first goal in a Minnesota uniform after coming to the team from Buffalo in a summer trade.

Ferraro, playing his first game in a Wild sweater, gave Minnesota a 3-1 lead when his shot from the top of the circle trickled through Bobrovsky's knees. The puck came to rest on its side in the crease, until Ferraro crashed the net and poked it in.

Columbus got one back before the end of the period on Savard's first of the season, a close-range slap shot that eluded Dubnyk, cutting Minnesota's lead to 3-2.

The second Ennis goal came on a third-period power play to put Minnesota up 4-2, but Atkinson responded within a minute to make it a one-goal game again.

Anderson tipped a Savard shot with 3:37 to play, forging a 4-4 tie.

The winner came after Dubnyk stopped an Artemi Panarin shot. The rebound hit Wennberg in the chest, then glanced off the shaft of his stick and into the net. After a video review, it was deemed a good goal.

"It happened so quick. Obviously I thought it was a goal," Wennberg said. "I didn't have any intention to put it in my hand or anything like that. I just went to the net and got rewarded. Obviously we didn't know if it was going to count or not but it was a great win and a fun way to win."

NOTES: The biggest pregame ovation came when Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve and forward Rebekkah Brunson were introduced with the WNBA championship trophy. The Lynx recently beat the Los Angeles Sparks for Minnesota's fourth league title in the past seven seasons. ... While Nick Foligno played left wing for the Blue Jackets, his brother Marcus was scratched from Minnesota's lineup due to a facial injury suffered in a fight during the Wild's win Thursday in Chicago. The brothers will get another chance to face each other Jan. 30 when Columbus hosts the Wild. ... Minnesota has five days off before facing the Jets in Winnipeg on Friday. Columbus also plays its next game in Winnipeg on Tuesday.
Top Game Performances
 
Columbus   Minnesota
Artemi Panarin 3 Points Tyler Ennis 2
David Savard 1 Goals Tyler Ennis 2
Artemi Panarin 3 Assists Ryan Suter 2
N/A Power Play Goals Tyler Ennis 2
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Sergei Bobrovsky .810 Save Percentage Devan Dubnyk .857
Sergei Bobrovsky 17 Saves Devan Dubnyk 30
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Columbus 35 5 0-3 1-3 6 25
Minnesota 21 4 2-3 3-3 6 49
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Winnipeg. The Wild have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Columbus will play their next game on the road against Winnipeg. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .750 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.