GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NHL: MINNESOTA (15-13) at COLUMBUS (13-15)

NHL: MINNESOTA at COLUMBUS

<div class="pre">NHL MINNESOTA 2
COLUMBUS 1 16:40 LEFT, 3RD PRD</div>

 

NHL: MINNESOTA at COLUMBUS

<div class="pre">NHL MINNESOTA 2
COLUMBUS 1 15:52 LEFT, 3RD PRD</div>

 

NHL: MINNESOTA at COLUMBUS

<div class="pre">NHL MINNESOTA 2
COLUMBUS 1 12:50 LEFT, 3RD PRD</div>

 

NHL: MINNESOTA at COLUMBUS

<div class="pre">NHL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
MINNESOTA 1 0 1 2
COLUMBUS 0 1 0 1 FINAL

GOAL SCORING:

1ST PRD: MIN - AARON VOROS 5 (PAVOL DEMITRA, MARIAN GABORIK) 13:51
2ND PRD: COB - NIKOLAI ZHERDEV 11 (JASON CHIMERA, MICHAEL PECA) 0:52
3RD PRD: MIN - BRIAN ROLSTON 9 (KIM JOHNSSON, PIERRE-MARC BOUCHARD)
2:22

POWER-PLAY CONVERSIONS: MIN - 0 OF 4, COB - 0 OF 1.

SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
MIN 5 11 10 26
COB 6 11 15 32

GOALIES: MIN - NIKLAS BACKSTROM
COB - PASCAL LECLAIRE

OFFICIALS: REF - KEVIN POLLOCK, STEPHANE AUGER
LIN - LONNIE CAMERON, STEVE MILLER

ATT: 15,666</div>

 

NHL: MINNESOTA at COLUMBUS

<div class="pre">------------------------------------
Minnesota 1 0 1 --2
Columbus 0 1 0 --1
------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Minnesota, Aaron Voros 5 (Pavol Demitra,
Marian Gaborik), 13:51. Penalties: S Hill, Min (elbowing), 6:36; R
Nash, Cob (hooking), 9:42.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Columbus, Nikolai Zherdev 11 (Jason
Chimera, Michael Peca), 0:52. Penalties: A Voros, Min (major
fighting), 8:54; J Boll, Cob (major fighting), 8:54; J Hejda, Cob
(hooking), 9:40.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Minnesota, Brian Rolston 9 (Kim Johnsson,
Pierre-Marc Bouchard), 2:22. Penalties: D Westcott, Cob (holding),
4:00; J Chimera, Cob (tripping), 6:51.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
Minnesota 5 11 10 --26
Columbus 6 11 15 --32
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Minnesota - 0 of 4, Columbus - 0 of 1. Goalies
: Minnesota, Niklas Backstrom (32 shots, 31 saves; record: 13-5-1).
Columbus, Pascal Leclaire (26 shots, 24 saves; record: 10-6-2). A:
15,666. Referees: Kevin Pollock, Stephane Auger. Linesmen: Lonnie
Cameron, Steve Miller.</div>

 

NHL: MINNESOTA at COLUMBUS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NHL
MINNESOTA 2
COLUMBUS 1</div>

 

By Dave Holstein
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- For a team coming off its worst lossof the season, there may be no more satisfying win for theMinnesota Wild than one at Nationwide Arena.


Brian Rolston scored the winning goal early in the third periodand Niklas Backstrom made 31 saves as the Wild edged the BlueJackets, 2-1, to win in Columbus for the first time in over fiveyears.


Coming off a 5-0 beating in Detroit on Friday, Minnesota'soutlook appeared bleak against Columbus, a team it had notbeaten on the road since January 18, 2002.


Rolston snapped a 1-1 tie with a hard slap shot from the top ofthe left faceoff circle that beat goaltender Pascal Leclairehigh inside the near goalpost.


Backstrom handled it from there, turning aside a number of shotsin the final minutes as the Blue Jackets desperately attemptedto tie the game. The 29-year-old Finnish netminder improved to32-3-3 when his team has led at any point in the game.

Aaron Voros scored the other goal for Minnesota, which improvedto 2-7-3 all-time against the Blue Jackets in Columbus - theteam with which the Wild entered the NHL in 2000.


Nikolai Zherdev scored the lone tally for Columbus, which fellto 8-4-3 at home this season.

 

NHL: MINNESOTA at COLUMBUS

<div class="pre">------------------------------------
Minnesota 1 0 1 --2
Columbus 0 1 0 --1
------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Minnesota, Aaron Voros 5 (Pavol Demitra,
Marian Gaborik), 13:51. Penalties: S Hill, Min (elbowing), 6:36; R
Nash, Cob (hooking), 9:42.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Columbus, Nikolai Zherdev 11 (Jason
Chimera, Michael Peca), 0:52. Penalties: A Voros, Min (major
fighting), 8:54; J Boll, Cob (major fighting), 8:54; J Hejda, Cob
(hooking), 9:40.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Minnesota, Brian Rolston 9 (Kim Johnsson,
Pierre-Marc Bouchard), 2:22. Penalties: D Westcott, Cob (holding),
4:00; J Chimera, Cob (tripping), 6:51.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
Minnesota 5 11 10 --26
Columbus 6 11 15 --32
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Minnesota - 0 of 4, Columbus - 0 of 1. Goalies
: Minnesota, Niklas Backstrom (32 shots, 31 saves; record: 13-5-1).
Columbus, Pascal Leclaire (26 shots, 24 saves; record: 10-6-2). A:
15,666. Referees: Kevin Pollock, Stephane Auger. Linesmen: Lonnie
Cameron, Steve Miller.</div>

 

NHL: MINNESOTA at COLUMBUS

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------
MINNESOTA 1 0 1 --2
COLUMBUS 0 1 0 --1
-----------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Minnesota, Aaron Voros 5 (Pavol Demitra,
Marian Gaborik), 13:51. Penalties: S Hill, Min (elbowing), 6:36; R
Nash, Cob (hooking), 9:42.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Columbus, Nikolai Zherdev 11 (Jason
Chimera, Michael Peca), 0:52. Penalties: A Voros, Min (major
fighting), 8:54; J Boll, Cob (major fighting), 8:54; J Hejda, Cob
(hooking), 9:40.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Minnesota, Brian Rolston 9 (Kim Johnsson,
Pierre-Marc Bouchard), 2:22. Penalties: D Westcott, Cob (holding),
4:00; J Chimera, Cob (tripping), 6:51.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
MINNESOTA 5 11 10 --26
COLUMBUS 6 11 15 --32
----------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: MIN - 0 of 4, COB - 0 of 1. Goalies :
Minnesota, Niklas Backstrom (32 shots, 31 saves; record: 13-5-1).
Columbus, Pascal Leclaire (26 shots, 24 saves; record: 10-6-2). A:
15,666. Referees: Kevin Pollock, Stephane Auger. Linesmen: Lonnie
Cameron, Steve Miller.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

MINNESOTA COLUMBUS
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
M Gaborik 0 1 +1 5 D Westcott 0 0 even 1
B Rolston 1 0 +1 1 C Glencross 0 0 even 3
D Moore 0 0 -1 0 N Zherdev 1 0 even 5
S Veilleux 0 0 -1 1 G Brule 0 0 even 1
M Parrish 0 0 even 0 M Peca 0 1 even 0
D Boogaard 0 0 even 1 K Beech 0 0 -1 1
E Belanger 0 0 even 2 J Chimera 0 1 +1 2
K Foster 0 0 even 5 J Lindstrom 0 0 even 0
P Demitra 0 1 +1 0 J Boll 0 0 even 0
M Skoula 0 0 even 2 J Shelley 0 0 even 0
A Voros 1 0 +1 1 D Fritsche 0 0 -1 5
K Johnsson 0 1 +1 3 A Foote 0 0 even 3
N Schultz 0 0 even 0 O Tollefsen 0 0 even 0
S Hill 0 0 even 0 R Hainsey 0 0 -1 2
J Sheppard 0 0 +1 0 R Nash 0 0 -2 2
B Burns 0 0 +1 1 J Hejda 0 0 even 2
T Fedoruk 0 0 -1 2 S Fedorov 0 0 even 2
P Bouchard 0 1 +1 2 R Klesla 0 0 -1 3
K Carney HEALTHY M Malhotra KNEE INJURY
B Radivojevic HEALTHY D Vyborny HIP INJURY
M Foy HEALTHY K Russell HEALTHY</div>

 

By Dave Holstein
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- For a team coming off its worst lossof the season, there may be no more satisfying win for theMinnesota Wild than one at Nationwide Arena.


Brian Rolston scored the winning goal early in the third periodand Niklas Backstrom made 31 saves as the Wild edged the BlueJackets, 2-1, to win in Columbus for the first time in over fiveyears.


Coming off a 5-0 beating in Detroit on Friday, Minnesota'soutlook appeared bleak against Columbus, a team it had notbeaten on the road since January 18, 2002.


Rolston snapped a 1-1 tie at 2:22 of the third with a hard slapshot from the top of the left faceoff circle that beatgoaltender Pascal Leclaire high inside the near goalpost.

Backstrom handled it from there, turning aside a number of shotsin the final minutes as the Blue Jackets desperately attemptedto tie the game. The 29-year-old Finnish netminder improved to32-3-3 when his team has led at any point in the game.

Aaron Voros scored the other goal for Minnesota, which improvedto 2-7-3 all-time against the Blue Jackets in Columbus - theteam with which the Wild entered the NHL in 2000.


Nikolai Zherdev scored the lone tally for Columbus, which fellto 8-4-3 at home this season.

 

By Dave Holstein
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- For a team coming off its worst lossof the season, there may be no more satisfying win for theMinnesota Wild than one at Nationwide Arena.


Brian Rolston scored the winning goal early in the third periodand Niklas Backstrom made 31 saves as the Wild edged the BlueJackets, 2-1, on Saturday to win in Columbus for the first timein over five years.


Coming off a 5-0 beating in Detroit on Friday, Minnesota'soutlook appeared bleak against Columbus, a team it had notbeaten on the road since January 18, 2002.


"It's been a long time," Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said."That's why it's nice, because we do not win here too often. Wewere good until the end."


"Tonight, we played about 12 minutes of the way we have toplay," Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. "That's whathappens when you put skill ahead of work. We have been guiltyof that for a couple of nights now, and tonight it caught upwith us."


Rolston snapped a 1-1 tie at 2:22 of the third with a hard slapshot from the top of the left faceoff circle that beatgoaltender Pascal Leclaire high inside the near goalpost.

"It was a bomb," Rolston said. "That's what it was. It was aperfect example of putting the puck on the net. I knew therewere people there. It was my first shot on the net, and it onlytakes one.


"I just came off the wall and wanted to get it off the net. Ithink it went off one of their defensemen in front, which isgood luck. It was a hard-fought win after getting completelyoutplayed last night."


Rolston has seven goals and 11 assists in 16 career gamesagainst Columbus.


Backstrom handled it from there, turning aside a number of shotsin the final minutes as the Blue Jackets desperately attemptedto tie the game. The 29-year-old Finnish netminder improved to32-3-3 when his team has led at any point in the game.

"It was a big win after last night," Backstrom said. "I thinkthe team had a tough time to play here. I think it's the firstwin in nine games here, so it's a big win, for sure. It's goodto get the big win for the team. Everyone played great in frontof me, and I felt good and was able to see the pucks."

"He played great," Columbus captain Adam Foote said ofBackstrom. "But so did Pazzy (Leclaire). I don't want to takeanything away from Backstrom, but we just have to get more guysto the net and get some greasy goals."


Minnesota got on the board first at 13:51 of the opening period,when Marian Gaborik controlled the puck off the wall nearcenter ice and passed to Pavol Demitra, who skated in unimpededfrom the right wing. Demitra then slipped a pass through thecrease to Aaron Voros, who punched it in for his fifth goal ofthe campaign.


"It was a great pass," Voros said. "I was just trying to get tothe net hard and was able to get my stick on the puck and putit in. It was a big goal. It gave us the lead, and we seem toplay pretty good when we get the lead, so it was important."

Demitra's assist was his 32nd point in 28 career contests vs.the Blue Jackets.


The Blue Jackets, who fell to 8-4-3 at home this season, evenedit 52 seconds into the middle session. Jason Chimera set upNikolai Zherdev in the right faceoff circle, where the23-year-old blistered a one-timer past Backstrom.