The Blue Jackets are off to a strong start, but the biggest challenge of the season looms on Friday night.
Columbus welcomes a Winnipeg team to Nationwide Arena that leads the in points percentage and is outscoring foes by an average of more than two goals per game (4.60-2.40).
There’s no one hotter in the NHL, so the Blue Jackets will have to be on their game come the opening faceoff. The good news they generally have, as head coach Dean Evason has preached a mentality of being ready to play no matter when, where or who the Jackets play.
The result has been a team that’s generally played the right way through its first nine games of the season and earned points in four straight (3-0-1).
“Remember early in the year we were talking about, we were playing a winning type of hockey and we weren’t getting a couple of wins here and there,” Evason said after Wednesday night’s shutout victory against the Islanders. “You’re not going to win every hockey game, but you just continue to play winning hockey in different ways and you get rewarded.”
So far, the rewards have come like trick-or-treat candy. Columbus finished the month with a .611 points percentage, marking the fourth-best October in franchise history. The Blue Jackets have also won three straight games in Nationwide arena for the first time in nearly two years (Nov. 10-17, 2022).
And last night’s victory showed the team is able to respond to a different type of challenge. The Blue Jackets scored six goals in each of the first four wins, but the team had to adapt to the Islanders’ defensive style last night and did just that, sticking to the plan through two scoreless opening periods and then getting the decisive pair of tallies in the third.
“You need to win any way possible,” said defenseman Damon Severson, who scored the winning goal in the third. “Obviously the fans love the six goals on the board and the cannon going off a lot, but it doesn’t really matter. As long as we win, whether it’s 1-0, 2-0 like tonight or 6-1, it doesn’t really matter. The main thing is the cannon goes off after the game for a win.”
Know The Foe: Winnipeg Jets
Head coach: Scott Arniel (First season)
Team stats: Goals per game: 4.60 (1st) | Scoring defense: 2.40 (4th) | PP: 44.8 percent (1st) | PK: 81.0 percent (15th)
The narrative: Former Blue Jackets head coach Scott Arniel finally has another chance to sit in the big chair, and he couldn’t have dreamed of a better start. Winnipeg won its first eight games and is now 9-1-0, with four of the victories coming by at least three goals. It’s a similar start to last year, when the Jets won 27 of their first 40 games to move to the top of the NHL standings, but the campaign ended in disappointment as the Jets lost in the first round of the playoffs for the second year in a row.
Team leaders: One of the top scorers in the NHL – he's posted at least 30 goals in each of the last six full seasons – Kyle Connor again leads the way with nine goals, tied for third in the league. With 17 total points, he’s also tied for fifth in the NHL. Four other Jets have reached double digits in points so far: Mark Scheifele (6-7-13), Neal Pionk (3-9-12), Nikolaj Ehlers (4-7-11) and Josh Morrissey (1-10-11).
In net, one of the league’s best is again off to a hot start, as two-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck is 7-1-0 with a 2.12 GAA and .923 save percentage. The Blue Jackets will see backup Eric Comrie, though, who has won both starts with a 3.00 GAA and .915 save percentage.
What's new: The Jets made few additions to the roster in the offseason, sticking with a core that has made playoff appearances six times in the past seven years and won 52 games a season ago. There were some losses, though, as current CBJ forward Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli left in free agency, while defensemen Nate Schmidt was bought out and Brendan Dillon also signed elsewhere. The biggest change came behind the bench, as Rick Bowness retired after a long career and was replaced by Arniel, who led the Blue Jackets to a 45-60-18 record in a season and a half from 2010-12.
Trending: Winnipeg won both games in the series by a combined 11-1 score a season ago, including a 6-1 victory on St. Patrick’s Day in Nationwide Arena. Those two victories for the Jets ended a five-game point streak (4-0-1) for the Blue Jackets in the series.
Former CBJ: None
