Minnesota scored the only goal of the 2nd period, and that's the whole game. Nobody scored in the 3rd. A Wild team that blew most of a 3-goal lead to St. Louis in its last 3rd period closed this one out with no scoring at all. This defense is missing Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon and Olli Maatta, so a 20-minute shutout to protect a 1-goal lead is the best sign so far that it can hold up while those 3 are gone.
Wallstedt was confirmed as the Wild's starter before the game, and Minnesota's net gave up 1 goal. That fits the 2.13 GAA he brought into the night. The news that came out before puck drop raised the stakes for him: John Hynes said Filip Gustavsson's hip will keep him out at least another month, so this crease belongs to Wallstedt well into November. Columbus was projected to go back to Jet Greaves after his 29-save shutout of the Rangers. Whoever was in the Blue Jackets' net held Minnesota to 2, which is about as much as you can ask of a goalie on the 2nd night of a back-to-back.
For Columbus, the worry is up front. The Blue Jackets have now played 2 games on consecutive nights and scored 1 goal in regulation across the 2. Kent Johnson's overtime winner was the only thing that broke a 0-0 game against New York. Against Minnesota, the 1st-period goal was all they got. With Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro out, Zach Werenski had to carry huge minutes on no rest, and an offense that leans on him to drive play from the back end went quiet for the last 40 minutes. The scoring line we had in hand doesn't settle whether Matthew Knies or Werenski scored that one goal. Either way, it was the only one.
Minnesota's top line was the other headliner. Matt Boldy came in off a hat trick, and Kirill Kaprizov was listed day to day before the game. A 2-goal night doesn't look like that line ran wild the way it did against the Blues. The line score can't say whether Kaprizov's tag cost him minutes. What it does show is a Wild team that won ugly rather than in a shootout, which is a different and probably more useful skill for a roster this thin.
The Wild are 6-2-1 and 4-1 in their last 5, and they've done it with 7 regulars on the injury list, including both Folignos and Nico Sturm from the bottom 6. Columbus heads home with 2 low-scoring games behind it and a scoring problem to fix. Its goalie and its structure did their part over the weekend. The goals didn't come.