COLUMBUS, Ohio – Wild coach Bruce Boudreau spelled out the issue to his players.
Literally.
He wrote the statistics that illustrated his team's woes on the road on the white board for all to absorb, a tactic that underscores just how glaring these struggles have become — especially in comparison with the success that's rolled in at home.
And the review session seemed to be just the jolt the Wild needed to improve, because the team returned from the All-Star break to corral a 3-2 shootout victory over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night in front of 17,734 at Nationwide Arena to secure only its second road win in its past seven tries.
"A step in the right direction," forward Charlie Coyle said.
Wingers Zach Parise and Chris Stewart capitalized one-on-one against goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, with Parise delivering the deciding goal in the fourth round of the shootout. Only Artemi Panarin was able to push a puck past goalie Devan Dubnyk, who made 28 saves through overtime.
Bobrovsky had 41 saves after facing a season-high 43 shots from the Wild.
"I thought we were pretty determined, and I was thinking that we were going to win," Boudreau said.