Columbus shuts out the Wild

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The Columbus Blue Jackets retaliated on the scoreboard.

After Minnesota's Wes Walz smacked Columbus' Duvie Westcott in the face with the butt end of his stick, the Blue Jackets scored three power-play goals en route to a 3-0 victory Wednesday night.

"For some reason, it doesn't matter who we play at home, but when we get emotional, we get playing well," goalie Marc Denis said. "We knew if we could get on top of them early, we could snuff out a couple of points."

Mike Sillinger, Geoff Sanderson and Rick Nash scored power-play goals in a four-minute span after Walz was given a five-minute major and ejected with about five minutes left in the first period.

Fifty-five seconds after the penalty, Sillinger opened the scoring off a rebound.

With the power play still in effect, Minnesota's Pascal Dupuis was penalized for high-sticking and the Jackets had a five-on-three advantage, which they capitalized on when Sanderson scored on a one-timer with 1:26 left in the period.

Columbus got another five-on-three when Wild coach Jacques Lemaire was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following Sanderson's goal. Nash then made it 3-0 with 9 seconds remaining when he crashed the net and scored off a rebound.

"It was a real good performance, which is pretty typical of how we've been playing at home," Blue Jackets coach Doug MacLean said.

Denis made 27 saves -- 24 in the final two period -- for his fifth shutout of the season and ninth of his career. He hasn't allowed a goal in 128 minutes, 28 seconds against the Wild.

"Their goalie was at the top of his game and in control," Lemaire said.

Minnesota was 0-for-8 on the power play.

"They're aggressive at the right times and they're passive at the right times," Lemaire said. "They have guys that read the play well. They take care of the rebounds, they take care of the little things to have success."

Columbus has killed all 17 power-play chances the Wild have had in three games against the Blue Jackets this season.

"Our special teams were the difference tonight," Sanderson said. "There wasn't a whole lot going on five-on-five."

Minnesota 0 0 0 -- 0

Columbus 3 0 0 -- 3

First Period--1, Columbus, Sillinger 18 (Sanderson, Whitney), 16:03 (pp). 2, Columbus, Sanderson 32 (Whitney, Cassels), 18:34 (pp). 3, Columbus, Nash 17 (Spacek, Whitney), 19:51 (pp). Penalties--Mitchell, Min (tripping), :41; Westcott, Clm (holding), 7:38; Walz, Min, match penalty, 15:08; Dupuis, Min (high-sticking), 17:18; Minnesota bench, served by Brunette (unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:34.

Second Period--None. Penalties--Dupuis, Min (ob.-tripping), 4:34; Spacek, Clm (high-sticking), 12:13; Westcott, Clm, double minor (high-sticking), 13:26; Pronger, Clm (slashing), 19:24.

Third Period--None. Penalties--Ling, Clm (tripping), 3:00; Klesla, Clm (hooking), 4:58; Brown, Min (high-sticking), 13:11; Zyuzin, Min (roughing), 13:11; Nash, Clm (clipping), 13:11; Westcott, Clm (roughing), 13:11; Wright, Clm, minor-major (cross-checking, fighting), 14:28; Kuba, Min, major (fighting), 14:28; Ronning, Min (holding stick), 15:49.

Shots on goal--Minnesota 3-13-11--27. Columbus 16-6-2--24.

Power-play Opportunities--Minnesota 0 of 8; Columbus 3 of 7.

Goalies--Minnesota, Roloson 22-16-8 (24 shots-21 saves). Columbus, Denis 27-40-7 (27-27).

A--18,136 (18,136). T--2:14.

Referees--Shane Heyer, Dave Jackson. Linesmen--Brian Mach, Thor Nelson.