Disputed shootout goal leads Jackets over Wild 2-1

Minnesota Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper, right, stops a shot by Columbus Blue Jackets' Mark Letestu in the first period.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Minnesota Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper, right, stops a shot by Columbus Blue Jackets' Mark Letestu in the first period.

ST. PAUL — Ryan Johansen scored a disputed goal in the fourth round of the shootout to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild today night.

Johansen’s shot initially was ruled a rebound, but a video review showed that Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper did not touch the puck, making it a legal shootout goal.

With the win, Columbus stayed one point ahead of Philadelphia in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, while Minnesota pushed its lead over Dallas to five points in the race for seventh in the West.

The shootout capped a night of brilliant goaltending from the Blue Jackets’ Sergei Bobrovsky and Minnesota’s Kuemper. Bobrovsky, last year’s Vezina Trophy winner, stopped 32 of 33 shots through overtime, while Kuemper finished with 28 saves.

In the shootout, Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu scored for Minnesota, but Artem Anisimov and Mark Letestu rallied the Blue Jackets with goals to set up Johansen’s clincher.

On a night that featured just two regulation goals and one penalty, it took almost 40 minutes for somebody to score. Columbus finally broke through on a goal by Dalton Prout with 21.6 seconds to play in the second period. Prout took a pass from Jack Johnson at the top of the slot and fired a slap shot that deflected off Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin’s knee and past Kuemper.

The Wild tied it 3:12 into the third period on Jason Pominville’s team-leading 25th goal. Parise chased down a loose puck behind Columbus’ net and slipped a pass out front to Pominville, who beat Bobrovsky on his glove side to make it 1-1.

Bobrovsky kept it tied with a pair of sterling saves on Charlie Coyle and Kyle Brodziak midway through the third. Coyle jumped on a funny hop off the end boards for a point-blank shot that Bobrovsky turned away, and later in the same shift Brodziak deflected a blast from the point that the Columbus goalie smothered.

Bobrovsky’s biggest save of the night might have been one that didn’t even count. With just under 2 minutes left in regulation, Parise centered the puck from the left boards. Blue Jackets forward Nathan Horton broke up the pass but almost inadvertently tipped it past Bobrovsky, who had to scramble to get his right skate on the puck and keep it out of the net.

NOTES: Columbus D Fedor Tyutin played after returning from the injured reserve list on Friday. He injured his ankle playing for Russia in the Olympics. ... With Tyutin back in the lineup, Blue Jackets D Nick Schultz was a healthy scratch. Schultz played for Minnesota from 2001-12 and still holds Minnesota’s franchise record for games with 743. ... Parise, Pominville and Mikael Granland have 35 points in 12 games for since being put on the same line. ... The Wild are 7-0-3 in their last 10 home games.