Leclaire helps Blue Jackets rebound against Wild, 4-0

The goalie stopped 32 shots and recorded his sixth
shutout of the year.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Pascal Leclaire woke up thinking he had the day off.

The Columbus goalie ended up setting a club record and helping his team get back on track after a recent rough stretch.

Leclaire stopped 32 shots for his club-record sixth shutout of the season, Michael Peca had a goal and an assist in his return from a groin injury, and the Blue Jackets beat the Minnesota Wild 4-0 on Friday.

The victory snapped Columbus’ five-game road winless streak and gave the team its second win in seven games.

“We just wanted to come in and play a solid game today,” said Leclaire, who started because backup Fredrik Norrena was sick. “I’m honest. I know when I play good. I know when I don’t. Today I had to focus on being calm and patient.”

David Vyborny, Dan Fritsche and Rick Nash also scored for Columbus, which took advantage of several turnovers by the Wild.

Minnesota has dropped 10 of its last 14.

“We just couldn’t connect. Whether it was one of those days or whatnot, we couldn’t make two, three passes in a row,” Wild winger Mark Parrish said. “We couldn’t make one pass. Bouncing over our sticks, not getting to the puck, not winning the battles to the puck, not getting pucks to the net. The list could go on and on. Frustrating. Very frustrating.”

Columbus held team meetings the last two days to try and address its recent stretch of winless games. Peca felt players were not connecting with what the coaches were telling them.

“Collectively, we weren’t getting the message sent down from the coaching staff,” he said. “We needed to re-evaluate where we are and where we’re capable of being.”

Fritsche’s goal in the second period gave Columbus a 3-0 lead and left Wild fans groaning in disbelief. With nobody pressuring him, Minnesota defenseman Brent Burns mishandled the puck in front of his own net, allowing Fritsche to swoop in and score a gift goal.

“That third goal seemed to unnerve them a little bit,” Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock said.

Peca stole the puck from Wild center Dominic Moore behind the net to set up Nash’s team-leading 16th goal that made it 4-0 early in the third.