Well, last night was ugly and Eric Nystrom is coming back to the Wild, even if only on paper.

This just in: Martin Havlat is hurt and may actually not be "needed" in San Jose:

• Martin Havlat’s ailing shoulder keeps him out of lineup and in constant trouble | ProHockeyTalk When the Sharks acquired Martin Havlat from Minnesota for Dany Heatley, they were banking on him helping change things up in San Jose so they could make a run at the Stanley Cup. Havlat’s season, however, is yet to begin as David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News shares he’s continuing to rehab to get back on the ice and he won’t let it affect how he plays either.

Oh, and the "highlights" from last night

• Five Takeaways at Ottawa - Minnesota Wild The league should probably do itself a favor and not show the replay of this one on NHL Network anytime soon. There were just too many delays and too many head scratching moments, especially for the Wild.

• Wild exit first road trip with one point, no worries - TwinCities.com You might say it's a rough start for the Wild. But the picture, several Wild players and coach Mike Yeo all insist, is not at all bleak.
• Parliament funk: Wild blow two leads, fall 4-3 to Senators in shootout | 1500 ESPN Twin Cities 2004: The last time the Wild won a game versus Ottawa.
• Visit to Ottawa brings back memories of fire for Minnesota Wild - TwinCities.com It was business as usual Tuesday morning at Scotiabank Place for Wild equipment man Tony DaCosta. "It's actually fun to come back here," he said. "I just enjoyed my time last night in the hotel and got to bed at a reasonable time - it wasn't 3 a.m. - so it was good."
• Tuesday’s Three Stars: Senators top Heatley, Wild - Puck Daddy No. 1 Star: Chris Neil Ottawa Senators. The truculent Senators forward set the tone and made the difference in their 4-3 shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild.
• Cheapseats: Neil does it all for Sens | Hockey | Sports | Toronto Sun All Chris Neil did Tuesday night was put up a goal, an assist, a plus-2 rating and a game-high eight hits — including the doozy on Clayton Stoner — in 16:41 of work.
• Senators battle back for first win | Sports | National Post Finally, a win. On the opening night of their 20th season in the NHL, the Ottawa Senators got the same result they did in 1992-93: a victory.
• Alfredsson gives Senators shootout win over Wild - NHL - Yahoo! Sports Paul MacLean celebrated his first win as an NHL head coach by making it clear he views the Ottawa Senators’ history as a clean slate.
• Sens Finally Complete a Third Period Comeback, Win 4-3 in Shootout - Silver Seven The Ottawa Senators finally pulled out a win, giving head coach Paul MacLean his first National Hockey League win, in his third game as the Sens bench boss. Once again, however, this game was for sure an interesting one, with a wild (pun!) finish, and an exciting third period. 
• Collapse costs Wild a point | StarTribune.com In a game in which it was mostly outplayed, the Wild could have stolen one behind Niklas Backstrom's yeoman's effort. That was until the Wild went from spoiling the Ottawa Senators' home opener to coughing up a two-goal, third-period lead en route to a 4-3 shootout loss.
• Recap: Ottawa 4, Wild 3 (SO) | StarTribune.com BY THE NUMBERS 12-25 Backstrom's shootout record. .568 Backstrom's shootout save percentage (worst in NHL, minimum 68 shots).

Eric Nystrom placed on re-entry waivers

• Wild's move puts Nystrom in play | StarTribune.com Eric Nystrom is on his way back to Minnesota, but the question is for how long. Nystrom, reassigned last week to Houston of the American Hockey League, was placed on re-entry waivers by the Wild on Tuesday -- a mechanism that might be designed to entice another team to claim Nystrom at half his $1.4 million salary.
• Nystrom waiver situation an interesting one | StarTribune.com Just a reminder that Eric Nystrom will either clear re-entry waivers or be claimed by 11 a.m. Wednesday. I have no doubt that the Wild did this to entice another team to take him at half his $1.4 million salary.