Takeaways: Wild’s home opener is spoiled by 7-4 loss to Blue Jackets

Instead of his longtime perch behind the bench, former Wild coach Jacques Lemaire stood at center ice alongside the team’s inaugural coaching staff and original General Manager Doug Risebrough for a ceremonial puck drop to commemorate the franchise’s 25th anniversary.

But once the action started, the Wild didn’t pay homage to Lemaire’s stingy defensive style.

They were dumped 7-4 by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night at Grand Casino Arena to suffer only their fourth regulation loss in a home opener.

“The defense wasn’t where it needs to be,” center Joel Eriksson Ek said.

Kirill Marchenko’s hat trick included the 2-2 tiebreaker with 1 minute, 12 seconds left in the second period that gave Columbus a lead it would hold on to the rest of the way after the Wild rallied from the Blue Jackets scoring early in the first and second periods.

Just 2:29 in, Miles Wood was first to a dump-in and sent the puck five-hole on Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson, who was coming off a 5-0 shutout win at St. Louis on Thursday night.

Then only seven seconds into the second, Marchenko flung in a shot from between the circles after Columbus won the initial faceoff and quickly moved into Wild territory.

Overall, the Blues Jackets won 62% of faceoffs.

“Has to be better,” coach John Hynes said. “Obviously, faceoffs is a big part of the centerman, yes. But I also think there’s a lot of 50-50 pucks, too, in the faceoff circle that your wings and your ‘D’ also have to help and touch pucks first.”

BOXSCORE: Columbus 7, Wild 4

Later in the second, Matt Boldy buried a loose puck on the power play at 6:18 for his second goal in as many games. Columbus challenged the play, but video review determined the contact Eriksson Ek made with Elvis Merzlikins was outside the crease, so it didn’t qualify as goalie interference.

The Blue Jackets were dinged with a delay-of-game penalty and then another for shooting the puck over the glass.

But the momentum didn’t last.

Despite outshooting Columbus 20-10 in the period en route to a franchise-record 52 shots, including a career-high 11 for Kaprizov, the Wild couldn’t get out of the second tied and never recovered from Marchenko’s next goal off a rebound in front of Gustavsson.

“After that,” Gustavsson said, “it was just grinding, trying not to get the puck to bounce so much.”

Another slow start to the period stung the Wild.

After a slap shot by Zach Werenski off a Wild turnover 1:11 into the third, Marchenko put the Blue Jackets ahead 5-3 at 3:01 on his third goal during a 5-on-3 power play.

“It’s frustrating,” Buium said. “Obviously, scoring feels really good and getting that first one. But at the end of the day, you want to compete and you want to win.”

That quick two-goal blitz by the Blue Jackets to open the period became even more costly once Kaprizov tipped in a fourth Wild goal on the power play with 4:11 to go.

Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner added an empty-netter at 18:34.

Merzlikins had 48 saves and Gustavsson 25.

“From an offensive perspective, we’ve had some strong pushes and opportunities there,” Hynes said. “But it’s early in the year. You got to tighten up some of the details.”

Another ex-Wild coach was on hand in Dean Evason, and Evason has the Blue Jackets playing the up-tempo, aggressive hockey he brought to the Wild when he was at the helm.

As such, they were a tougher test than the Blues, and the Wild faltered.

They did an admirable job overcoming the 2-0 deficit during the second period, their perseverance getting rewarded after they missed a handful of close calls in tight in the first, but they couldn’t contain Columbus’ opportunistic offense even with veteran Jonas Brodin in the lineup in place of David Jiricek.

Brodin’s season debut was delayed a game after he was still on the mend at training camp following offseason surgery on an injury suffered playing for Sweden at the world championship in May.

“We were aiming maybe mid-October,” Brodin said. “But rehab’s been really good, so I’ve been feeling pretty good the last couple of weeks here, too. But we just want to be sure I can be 100%. But I feel great now.”