Spurgeon scores in OT as Wild beat Blue Jackets 3-2

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Jared Spurgeon scored on a give-and-go 1:24 into additional time and the Minnesota Wild recovered to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 and supply Marc-Andre Fleury with a victory in his Minnesota debut Saturday night time.

Fleury, the three-time Stanley Cup winner who has the fourth-most playoff wins in NHL historical past, stopped 23 photographs for Minnesota, which received its fifth straight sport.

Kirill Kaprizov scored twice, together with a tying objective with 1:03 left within the third interval to place the sport into additional time. The Wild are three factors forward of St. Louis for second within the Central Division after the Blues misplaced at residence to Carolina.

Jake Bean and Jakub Voracek scored for Columbus, and Elvis Merzlikins made 35 saves.

Fleury’s debut, following a trade-deadline deal that despatched a conditional 2022 first-round draft decide to Chicago, was a bit delayed as he sat the previous two video games whereas Cam Talbot posted a pair of wins.

Fleury, the 37-year-old former Vezina Trophy winner, wasn’t examined a lot early. Columbus didn’t register it’s first shot till nearly 5 minutes within the sport and Minnesota outshot the Blue Jackets 14-8 within the first interval.

Kaprizov put the Wild forward with a power-play objective halfway by way of the primary. Mats Zuccarello despatched a go from behind the web to the alternative facet the place Kaprizov was in a position to sneak a fast shot previous Merzlikins from a tricky angle.

Kaprizov has 11 targets and 6 assists in his final 14 video games. He equaled Brian Rolston for the second-most factors in a single season in workforce historical past with 79. Solely Marian Gaborik had extra with 83 in 2007-08.

Zuccarello set a profession greatest along with his forty fifth help. He has a career-high 63 factors, together with 11 in his previous 11 video games.

Bean and Voracek turned the sport in Columbus’ favor within the second. Bean was credited along with his fifth objective of the season and first in 25 video games after a scrum in entrance of Fleury. Fleury sprawled out to attempt to make the save however appeared to kick the puck in with the again of his skate.

Voracek scored his fifth of the season with 1:05 left within the interval with an enormous shot from proper in entrance of Fleury.

WERENSKI INJURED

Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski left the sport within the first interval with an upper-body damage and didn’t return. Werenski, who has 10 targets and 32 assists this season, took an enormous hit from Minnesota defenseman Jacob Middleton.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Return residence towards the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

Wild: Talbot will likely be again in web as Minnesota hosts division-leading Colorado on Sunday.

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