Wild lose 5-3. Here come the highlights and the snippets:
Game recap from TwinCities.com
Marian Gaborik registered a goal and an assist, and Owen Nolan and James Sheppard each scored for the Wild (4-2) in a 2:14 span to tie it 3-3 after two periods.
"That's what happens when you don't skate in this game, you get behind," said Wild defenseman Kim Johnsson, who had an assist on Nolan's goal. "After we got the first goal we started skating more."
Nolan redirected Martin Skoula's point shot to put Minnesota on the board with a power-play tally at 14:10 of the second.
An ill-advised cross-ice pass by Nash in his own zone helped the Wild pull to within 3-2 just under a minute later.
From Star Tribune:
In what coach Jacques Lemaire called "a strange game," the Wild rallied from a 3-0 deficit and tied the score on goals by Owen Nolan, Marian Gaborik and James Sheppard in a span of 2 minutes, 14 seconds in the second period before losing 5-3.
Gaborik had two points and five of his eight shots in the second period, but he took two minor penalties in the third -- one that resulted in Kris Russell's winning power-play goal.
"Cost us the game," Lemaire said. "You've got to be smart."
Lemaire wasn't only unimpressed with Gaborik.
"We didn't deserve to win nothing the way we played," Lemaire said. "They started, they were all over us. And we weren't skating. This game is a skating game. It's not even positive that we came back."
Speaking of Marian Gaborik, he still contends he doesn't want to go:
Gaborik, 26, who has hit the 30-goal mark five times in seven seasons and last season had a franchise-record 42 goals and 83 points, maintains he wants to stay in Minnesota and has told his agent, Ron Salcer, just that.
"I've said numerous times, 'Ronnie, just deal with them. Ronnie, I want to get the deal done,'" Gaborik said.
"So that's where we are. But we can't control what they do."
From the other side (courtesy of the Columbus Dispatch)
Last night, after a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Wild in Nationwide Arena, Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock gave the top line of left winger Rick Nash, center R.J. Umberger and right winger Kristian Huselius his stamp of approval, saying it likely would be the Jackets' No. 1 unit when the regular season opens Friday night in Dallas.
The Nash-Umberger-Huselius line was assumed to be the Jackets' No. 1 line all summer. Yet last night -- two weeks and seven games into camp -- was the first time they had skated together, even in practice.
"This was Umberger's best game. He was really good tonight," Hitchcock said. "It was really good to see. He was strong on the puck. I thought he did a great job working with those two guys.
Nash had three assists. His point total stands to soar this season if he and Huselius stay healthy.
"(Huselius) finds you everywhere," Nash said. "It seems like the chemistry has been good.
"It's only been four games (in the lineup together), but it seems to be getting better every game."
Sure would have been nice to have picked up Huselius to play with Gaborik this off season.
Anyway, on to the videos:
Ken Hitchcock Presser:
Huselius post-game interview: