Three weeks ago, the Blue Jackets left Xcel Energy Center in a rage after a 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild.

“We felt like we got robbed coming out of that one,” center R.J. Umberger said.

Last night, the Jackets lost to the Wild again, this time by a 3-2 count. But there was a much different tenor in the dressing room.

This was a shootout loss, so the Blue Jackets still get a point in the standings. And in a difficult back to back this weekend against Buffalo and Minnesota, the Jackets took three out of a possible four points.

Kristian Huselius and Rick Nash scored last night, and the Blue Jackets came back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to force overtime. As the game wore on, Columbus seemed to take more control.

“I was really happy with the way we played,” coach Ken Hitchcock said. “I know we didn’t get the two points tonight, but we played two really tough teams and we played them right to the end.

“We played one bad game out of our last 12. That’s a really good sign.”

Huselius and Derick Brassard came up empty in the shootout, and the Wild got goals by Marek Zidlicky and Antti Miettinen in the second and third rounds, making a third Jackets shooter (it would have been Nash) unnecessary.

Rookie goaltender Steve Mason, who made 28 saves, got a piece of Miettinen’s game-clincher, but the puck sneaked through his glove side.

“At the start (of the trip), we would have thought three out of four points was a good trip,” Nash said. “But getting that close and then losing a game in a shootout is tough.

“We showed a lot of character to come back twice. This is tough arena to win in.”

Don’t the Blue Jackets know it. They have lost 12 of their 16 games in St. Paul, including two by what they thought were highly questionable calls by the officials.

Most recently, they lost a 2-1 game Oct. 25, when a last-minute goal by Nash was disallowed after review because officials ruled that Nash used an illegally high stick to redirect the puck. Even the Wild thought it should have counted.

Hitchcock was still miffed about it yesterday. He kept talking about it, even as he said the Jackets “have to move on from it.”

The officials stayed out of the way last night.

Huselius pulled the Jackets to 1-1 with 30.2 seconds left in the first period when he potted a rebound off Brassard’s shot from low in the slot.

The Wild took a 2-1 lead 1:48 into the third period on Erik Reitz’s goal, his first NHL point.

In an ugly, mucky game — the Wild’s neutral zone trap vs. the Blue Jackets’ dump and chase — one got the sense that Columbus would need a startling individual effort to pull even.

Nash did the honors, pulling the puck off the stick of Wild forward James Sheppard deep in the Wild zone and zooming in on Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom for a clean look.

Nash has struggled on one-on-one situations this season — his forehand shot was failing him — but he buried this one off his backhand, over Backstrom’s glove.

“Sooner or later they’re going to go in,” Nash said. “I finally tried something new, and it seemed to work.

“This was a tough point. We’ll take it.”

aportzline@dispatch.com

Box Story: Game wrap-up

\ THREE STARS

* Marek Zidlicky, D, Wild: A Jackets killer, first with Nashville, now with the Wild.

* Rick Nash, LW, Blue Jackets: Forced a big turnover and scored the tying goal in the third.

* Erik Reitz, D, Wild: Goal early in the third was his first NHL point. \

\ GAME SUMMARY

Columbus 1 0 1 0 — 2 \ Minnesota 1 0 1 0 — 3 \ Minnesota won shootout 2-0

FIRST PERIOD: Scoring — 1. Minnesota, Pouliot 5 (Belanger, Zidlicky), 17:36 (pp); 2. Columbus, Huselius 6 (Brassard, Nash), 19:29. Penalty — Methot, Col (hooking), 16:22.

SECOND: Penalties — Chimera, Col (hooking), 9:48; Brassard, Col (holding), 18:25; Koivu, Min (tripping), 19:11.

THIRD: Scoring — 3. Minnesota, Reitz 1 (Brunette, Burns), 1:48; 4. Columbus, Nash 8, 7:20.

SHOOTOUT: Columbus 0 (Huselius NG, Brassard NG), Minnesota 2 (Brunette NG, Zidlicky G, Miettinen G).

Shots on goal: Columbus 4-8-9-5–26; Minnesota 9-7-12-2–30. Power plays: Columbus 0 of 1; Minnesota 1 of 3. Goalies: Columbus, Mason 3-1-1 (30 shots-28 saves); Minnesota, Backstrom 10-3-1 (26-24). A: 18,568. T: 2:32.

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