Blue Jackets 5 - 4 Wild
Final - OT
  for this game

Blue Jackets, Wild battle in St. Paul

Mar 19, 2011 - 3:13 PM (Sports Network) - A pair of struggling teams will try to revive their fading playoff hopes this afternoon, when the Minnesota Wild welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets for today's battle at Xcel Energy Center.

The Wild are seeded 11th in the West with 77 points and they are currently six behind Calgary for the conference's eighth and final postseason berth.

Columbus, meanwhile, is three points in back of Minnesota for the West's 12th spot. The Wild have just 11 games left in the regular season, while Columbus has 12 remaining.

Minnesota has lost its last four games -- all in regulation -- and will try to avoid matching a season-high slide today. The Wild went 0-3-2 during a five- game skid from Nov. 27-Dec. 4.

Columbus has just one victory over its last 10 games, posting a 1-5-4 record over that span.

The Blue Jackets have won two of three against Minnesota this year and the clubs have split the last eight encounters overall. Columbus has lost seven of its last nine games in St. Paul.

Minnesota lost all four games on its slide during a four-game road trip, but the Wild are playing the first of four straight on home ice this afternoon. Todd Richards' club is 17-13-4 as the host this season.

The Wild completed their swing Thursday night in San Jose and were dealt a close regulation loss by the Sharks. Patrick Marleau scored on a power play five minutes into the third period, lifting the Sharks to the 3-2 win at HP Pavilion.

John Madden and Kyle Brodziak scored for the Wild, who have been out-scored 15-4 during this four-game slide. Niklas Backstrom was the hard-luck loser with 47 saves.

Guillaume Latendresse, Cam Barker and Marek Zidlicky missed Thursday's game due to injuries and are all questionable for today's tilt. Wild goaltender Jose Theodore is also battling an illness, although the sickness did not keep him from serving as the backup to Backstrom on Thursday.

Columbus was shut out in its most recent trip to the ice, losing a 2-0 decision Thursday night against visiting Detroit. Joey MacDonald made 37 saves for his first shutout of the season.

Steve Mason made 25 stops for the Blue Jackets, who were blanked for the first time since a 6-0 setback in Anaheim on Jan. 7.

"They scored in the first minute and you never wanna play catch-up that early," said Mason. "We played a decent game out there tonight, but decent doesn't cut it when you're fighting for points."

Columbus ended a five-game road losing streak in its last game as the guest and the Jackets are 16-13-6 as the away club this season.






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