The Blue Jackets are starting to iron out their defensive play, but the offense is still sputtering after a 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 18 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
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Despite getting sharp goaltending from veteran Cam Talbot and solid defense, the Blue Jackets (3-4-0) scored just one goal for the second straight game to split their second back-to-back of the season after downing the New York Rangers 1-0 in overtime Oct. 17 at Nationwide Arena.
Adam Fantilli scored the lone goal for the Blue Jackets, who were outshot 34-14 while being dominated in possession. Talbot stopped 32 of 34 shots in his first action since allowing six goals in a 7-3 loss Oct. 13 to the Florida Panthers.
Kirill Kaprizov and Danila Yurov scored goals for the Wild (6-2-1), while goalie Jesper Wallstedt made 13 saves. That included breakaways by Conor Garland in the first period and Charlie Coyle to start the third. Coyle was also denied with Talbot pulled for an extra skater at the end of the third.
The game began less than 24 hours after the Jackets' victory over the Rangers ended, which likely contributed to their collective energy level, but struggling to score goals is becoming a concerning early trend. Since opening the season with a 6-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 1, they haven't scored more than three goals in any of their next six games.
The Wild took a 1-0 lead on Yurov's goal with 1:48 left in the first period, making Carson Soucy pay for a turnover in the neutral zone. Fantilli tied it 1-1 a minute later during a delayed penalty for his second goal of the season, but Kaprizov capped a power play 3:06 into the second period to give the Wild a 2-1 lead that didn't change for the remainder of the game.
DispatchBlue Jackets/Crew reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets stumble in 2-1 loss to Minnesota Wild