Coming off of a frustrating 2-1 loss in Nashville on Thursday, the Columbus Blue Jackets spoiled the home opener for expansion cousins Minnesota with a wild (pun intended, but regretted) 7-4 victory. Here were the keys to the game:
Magnificent Marchy
Kirill Marchenko was buzzing in the opener, recording eight shots on goal against the Predators. He only had half that tonight, but three of them found the back of the net. It was awesome to see his effort rewarded, and each of his tallies was timely: seven seconds into the second period, in the final two minutes of that period to retake the lead, and then to provide an insurance goal in the third that proved to be the game-winner.