ST. PAUL, Minn. _ Zach Parise wasn't the only veteran forward who could have left the Wild before the NHL trade deadline.
Captain Mikko Koivu's status was also uncertain until Saturday when he alerted management he wouldn't be waiving his no-movement clause to facilitate a move to a new team.
And once the trade window slammed shut Monday, and the Wild relied on the same group of players after not making any deals ahead of the deadline despite being in talks to ship out Parise, Koivu was an important catalyst for the team _ scoring twice to help spur a 5-4 win over the Blue Jackets Tuesday at Xcel Energy Center that counted as the Wild's third victory in their last four games.
Koivu doubled his entire goal output this season with his two-goal effort, the standout performance on the fourth line that was impressive.
Overall, he combined with wingers Ryan Donato and Ryan Hartman for six points.
It was a different veteran, though, who gave the Wild their first lead.
Just 1 minute, 34 seconds into the first period, center Eric Staal's wraparound bounced off Columbus defenseman Scott Harrington and flew into the net. The goal was Staal's first in 12 games, and his spirited shout in celebration hinted at how fired up he was to shrug out of that rut.
Staal's goal was the beginning of a strong start for the Wild, as the team had the puck for most of the first 10 minutes, but the Blue Jackets evened the score after their second and third shots. Captain Nick Foligno put back a rebound that caught goalie Alex Stalock awkwardly at 13:33.
But before the first ended, the Wild moved in front on the fourth line's first goal _ a backhand by Donato as he was falling to his knees in front of the net with only 47 seconds remaining.
Defenseman Greg Pateryn's assist on the play was his first point of the season.
Columbus picked up the pace in the second, testing Stalock more frequently _ a push that made it seem the team could easily wrestle control of the game away from the Wild despite how well the Wild had been playing.
But then Koivu took over.
He made it 3-1 when he wired a shot by goalie Matiss Kivlenieks at 12:08, Koivu's first goal since Nov.9 � a lull of 30 games.
And with 10 seconds left in the second, Koivu recorded his second of the night. This time, he backhanded in a rebound for his fourth of the season.
This was the 18th two-goal effort of Koivu's career and first since Jan.5, 2017, when he potted a pair against the Sharks. Koivu has never scored a hat trick in his career.
His contributions coupled with Staal's tally also marked the first time both veterans have scored in the same game since Oct. 26, a win over the Kings.
Those Koivu goals became even more vital in the third when the Blue Jackets started to eat into their deficit.
At 1:55, Columbus' Devin Shore poked the puck around an aggressive Stalock and Emil Bemstrom crashed the net to bury the puck.
By 3:16, the Blue Jackets were within a goal after center Pierre-Luc Dubois deposited a puck behind Stalock that was knocked down in from by defenseman Matt Dumba.
This response by Columbus seemed to rattle the Wild, who struggled to rediscover their composure, but a shot by winger Kevin Fiala set up by Staal at 9:57 gave the team some breathing room. Fiala has three goals in his last four games and 14 points in his past 11.
That Fiala goal came up clutch, because the Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski scored off the rush with 3:06 to go.
Stalock ended up with 24 saves, while Kivlenieks had 35.
Neither power play capitalized, with the Wild going 0 for 2 and Columbus 0 for 1.
