PREVIEW: Holiday atmosphere beckons as Blue Jackets host Jets

BLUE JACKETS (10-6-0) vs. JETS (9-5-4)

It wasn't pretty at times, but after a wild start the team put the defensive clamps down over the last 30 minutes and finished off a tricky road trip with a 2-1 record.
GAMEDAY GUIDE: Dubois, Roslovic excited to face former teams
"It's just a huge win, so we'll take it," said Max Domi, who had three points and finished plus-4 in the victory. "It's fun to play win you're winning. Obviously, coming back from Vegas, it's not easy all the time, but we found a way and I think it shows a lot of character.
"We said before the game, this road trip can go two ways. If we win this one, it's going to be a heck of a road trip. If we don't, it's going to be a so-so one. And we all went in together and said we're going to come out on top here, and we found a way to do it."
Anything is a work in progress throughout a season, and the Blue Jackets are in that space right now. Defensively, there is work to be done, with Columbus allowing 3.60 goals per game over the last 10 contests. Special teams have generally been good but inconsistent -- the power play scuffled in the loss to Vegas, the penalty kill in Buffalo -- and a 5-0 overtime record has helped the record along.
But that's how hockey goes, and all you can ask is to get consistent effort and try to improve as the season goes along. The Blue Jackets have done largely that, getting varied scoring -- 19 goal scorers in 16 games -- figuring out ways to win close games and playing for one another in a way that's pretty obvious in the early going.
"Winning in general is fun," Domi said. "All I really care about is winning some hockey games right now and finding ways to win games like this. It's great to see. It just speaks volumes of our group. Everyone is getting on board here, and we believe in ourselves as a group.
"It's not like it's just been a five- or 10-game flurry. We've been doing it pretty consistently here. We just have to keep getting better every single day. If we keep doing that, we're going to be a heck of a hockey team here."
After three on the road, Columbus has a chance to keep the good vibes going with home games tonight against Winnipeg and Friday on Black Friday vs. Vancouver.
"We've been playing well," center Jack Roslovic added. "It was a good road trip and a good way to end it."

Know the Foe

Winnipeg comes to Columbus one point out of first place in the Central Division despite a three-game losing skid that followed a four-game winning streak.
It's a team with a history of recent success under the second-longest tenured coach in the NHL, Paul Maurice, with three playoff appearances in the last four years -- and falling just short of the postseason the fourth year in the bubble qualifying round of 2020.
Many of the names on the ice have been around as long as Maurice, as the core features such long-standing Jets as Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Andrew Copp, Nikolaj Ehlers, Adam Lowry, Josh Morrissey and Connor Hellebuyck.
On the season, strong defense and excellent 5-on-5 play have led the way for the Jets. Winnipeg has outscored opposing teams by a 36-25 margin at 5-on-5 -- the Jets are fifth in the NHL in scoring margin at that state -- while the mark of 2.56 goals allowed per game is sixth in the league. Winnipeg is also 14th in the NHL in scoring (3.00 goals per game), 13th in power play (20.4 percent) and a disappointing 31st in penalty kill (65.3 percent).
Connor has led the way in the early going, as the college teammate of Zach Werenski boasts a 12-10-22 line that places him tied for fifth in the league in both goals and points. Former CBJ forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, who is set to play against the Blue Jackets for the first time, is also off to a great start, following up a tough first season in Winnipeg with 10 goals and six assists in the early going.
Copp -- another Michigan alum -- leads the way in assists with 11 among his 16 points, while the Olympics-bound Ehlers (Denmark) has a 6-7-13 line and Scheifele adds a 2-5-7 mark in 12 games. The defensive corps has some notable names in veteran Nate Schmidt (1-10-11, plus-7), Neal Pionk (2-9-11) and Morrissey (3-5-8, plus-11).
Hellebuyck won the Vezina Trophy in 2019-20 and finished fourth a year ago, and he's off to another solid start with a 6-3-4 record, 2.58 GAA and .920 save percentage in 13 games. Backup Eric Comrie has played in five games, going 3-2-0 with a 2.19 GAA and .920 save percentage.