Columbus has its own situation to sort out first. The Blue Jackets host the New York Rangers on Saturday, then travel for a 5:00 PM CT puck drop in Saint Paul the next day. Whatever happens against New York, Columbus shows up on the 2nd night of a back-to-back with a flight in between. Minnesota last played Thursday.
The Blue Jackets' early season has swung both ways. They opened with a 6-3 win over Buffalo in which Matthew Knies, acquired from Toronto in late September, scored twice and added an assist in his Columbus debut. Then Florida beat them at Nationwide Arena on a Brady Tkachuk natural hat trick, and the Blue Jackets kept parading to the box. Mathieu Olivier drew the maximum fine for slashing in that game. Against a Wild power play built around Kaprizov, Boldy and Quinn Hughes, discipline is where Columbus can lose this game before it ever settles in.
Minnesota is 5-2-1 and 3-2 over its last 5. That run includes wins over Florida and Vegas and losses at Tampa Bay and Winnipeg, which is about what you'd expect from a roster this short-handed. It's a top-heavy group that has mostly won on star power. The best thing Columbus can do is make it a 5-on-5 game and make the Wild's patched-up defense handle the puck for 60 minutes. The Rangers game comes first and will say how much the Blue Jackets have left for Sunday.