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Columbus Blue Jackets at Minnesota Wild: Players to watch, keys to victory and prediction

By William Espy

ST. PAUL, MN - DECEMBER 31: Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella on the bench during the regular season match up between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild on December 31, 2016 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Blue Jackets won 4-2. (Photo by David Berding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN - DECEMBER 31: Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella on the bench during the regular season match up between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild on December 31, 2016 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Blue Jackets won 4-2. (Photo by David Berding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Columbus Blue Jackets
COLUMBUS, OH – OCTOBER 13: Players face-off during the second period of a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Rangers on October 13, 2017 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Prediction

The Columbus Blue Jackets will win tonight in Minnesota, but not without a few scares along the way. Sonny Milano will score the first goal of tonight’s game while Tyler Ennis of the Wild will get his first of the season to even it back up at 1-1.

Following those goals in the first period, there will be a scoreless second period.

Here’s where fatigue will begin to catch up with Bobrovsky, playing six periods over the course of two consecutive nights is tough for any goaltender. Jared Spurgeon of the Wild will give them the lead with a slap shot from the point while Bobrovsky is screened. The Wild will then hold the lead for a while, then Artemi Panarin will gather up a deflected pass right after he gets on the ice from a line change and get himself a break away goal to tie it up.

With time running down in the third, Oliver Bjorkstrand will score his first of the season to give the Jackets a 3-2 lead. With roughly a minute and a half remaining Bruce Boudreau will pull Devan Dubnyk, and Brandon Dubinsky will get his first of the season, scoring on the empty net to make it a 4-2 Columbus win. Sergei Bobrovsky will end up with 31 saves on the night.

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