Columbus Blue Jackets at Minnesota Wild

· National Hockey League

Columbus Blue Jackets

1-1-0

Final
7 - 4

Minnesota Wild

1-1-0

Marchenko's hat trick and Merzlikins' 48 saves help Blue Jackets spoil Wild home opener with 7-4 win

Marchenko nets hat trick as Blue Jackets pick up 1st win

Zach Werenski and Boone Jenner each had a goal and two assists and Adam Fantilli scored for the Blue Jackets, who took the lead on Miles Wood's wrist shot just 2:29 into the game and never trailed.

Kirill Kaprizov had his first two goals of the season on a career-high 11 shots plus an assist for the Wild, just 11 days after signing the richest contract in NHL history with his eight-year, $136 million extension.

Matt Boldy had a goal and an assist and Zeev Buium got his first career goal for the Wild, who had a franchise-record 52 shots on goal but lost 62% of the faceoffs and blew several prime scoring chances early with sloppy stickwork and off-target shooting.

Including their 5-0 win at St. Louis to open the season on Thursday, linemates Kaprizov and Boldy already have six points apiece.

Marchenko stole the show from his fellow Russian with the same first name, after managing eight shots on goal without scoring in the season-opening 2-1 loss at Nashville on Thursday. The fourth-year right wing broke out last season with 31 goals and 43 assists, bettering his previous career high for points by 32.

The Wild fell to 17-3-4 in their 25-year history in home openers at newly renamed Grand Casino Arena, which superseded Xcel Energy Center after the original naming rights expired.

This was the first regulation win for the Blue Jackets in their last 12 matchups with the Wild, who lead the all-time series against their 2000-01 season expansion brethren 35-23-11.

Up next Columbus plays its home opener against New Jersey on Monday, when Minnesota hosts Los Angeles.

Regular Season Series

CBJ lead series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal	1st Period 2:29	Miles Wood Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Zach Aston-Reese (1)
Goal	2nd Period 0:07	Kirill Marchenko Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Dmitri Voronkov (1), Ivan Provorov (1)
Goal	2nd Period 6:18	Matt Boldy Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Joel Eriksson Ek (1), Kirill Kaprizov (4)
Goal	2nd Period 8:24	Kirill Kaprizov Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Matt Boldy (3), Vladimir Tarasenko (1)
Goal	2nd Period 18:48	Kirill Marchenko Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Dmitri Voronkov (2), Zach Werenski (1)
Goal	3rd Period 1:11	Zach Werenski Goal (1) Slap Shot, assists: Adam Fantilli (1), Cole Sillinger (1)
Goal	3rd Period 3:01	Kirill Marchenko Goal (3) Slap Shot, assists: Zach Werenski (2), Boone Jenner (1)
Goal	3rd Period 9:54	Zeev Buium Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Joel Eriksson Ek (2), Matt Boldy (4)
Goal	3rd Period 10:47	Adam Fantilli Goal (1) Deflected, assists: Boone Jenner (2)
Goal	3rd Period 15:49	Kirill Kaprizov Goal (2) Tip-In, assists: Marco Rossi (2), Zeev Buium (1)
Goal	3rd Period 18:34	Boone Jenner Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Charlie Coyle (1)

Statistics

CBJ		MIN
16	Blocked Shots	19
16	Hits	18
6	Takeaways	6
32	Shots	52
1	Power Play Goals	4
3	Power Play Opportunities	8
33.3	Power Play Percentage	50.0
0	Short Handed Goals	0
0	Shootout Goals	0
44	Faceoffs Won	27
62.0	Faceoff Win Percent	38.0
11	Giveaways	14
8	Total Penalties	3
16	Penalty Minutes	6

Minnesota Wild Injuries

NAME, POS	STATUS	DATE
Zach Bogosian, D	Injured Reserve	Oct 21
Marco Rossi, C	Day-To-Day	Oct 21
Nico Sturm, C	Injured Reserve	Oct 9
Cameron Butler, RW	Injured Reserve	Oct 7
Michael Milne, LW	Injured Reserve	Oct 7