PREVIEW: Blue Jackets right back at it vs. Jets

It’s been a tough season for the Blue Jackets, but they might have found two building blocks for the future as they’ve come down the stretch.

And both of those players had a big impact in Columbus’ 4-2 win over San Jose on Saturday night. Daniil Tarasov made 39 more saves while Alex Nylander had two goals in the Jackets’ victory, and both of them are playing their best hockey of late.

We’ll start with Tarasov, and head coach Pascal Vincent was quick to heap praise on the CBJ goaltender after he shepherded the team to a win in a game in which the Jackets were outshot 41-20.

"He was our best player, for sure,” Vincent said. “Let's put it this way, we've played much better than tonight, and we didn't win those games. A lot of times I've said we played a good game, but if we keep playing that way we’re gonna win. Tonight, we needed Tarasov, and he played really well."

Tarasov has posted a .942 save percentage over his last eight games, and his teammates can’t help but take notice.

“I don’t think tonight was our best night in front of him, but he stood on his head and kept us in that game and ultimately won the game for us, obviously,” said Johnny Gaudreau, who had three points. “He’s a stud back there. I love when he’s in the net. He's such a good person, good teammate, and he’s a really good goaltender too. It’s good to see him play like that.”

Nylander, meanwhile, is in the midst of an all-time heater for a player traded before the deadline. He’s posted eight goals and three assists in 11 games since becoming a Blue Jacket, and he had two goals and an assist in the Saturday night win.

The 2016 first-round draft pick has been searching for a home, and Columbus might just be it after he was acquired in a February trade.

“I feel like I’ve been working for this the past two years down there in the (AHL), and I’m just trying to stick to my plan,” he said. “I know if I get a chance, I have to take it. I know I can play in this league. Obviously, it’s been a really good opportunity, and I’m really happy they took a chance on me. It’s been going great. I just have to keep it up.”

While Tarasov likely gets a breather tonight in the back-to-back against Winnipeg, Nylander gets another chance against one of the league’s top teams.

Know The Foe: Winnipeg Jets

Head coach: Rick Bowness (Second season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.09 (17th) | Scoring defense: 2.36 (1st) | PP: 19.4 percent (20th) | PK: 77.7 percent (21st)

The narrative: Winnipeg has made the postseason five out of the last six seasons, but most people likely didn’t expect the squad to be leading the NHL in points percentage in early January. That’s exactly where the Jets were, though, after a 28-9-4 start, and the team has kept it going throughout the campaign while battling Dallas and Colorado for the top spot in the Central Division. The Western Conference will be a battle to emerge from in the postseason, but the deep, veteran Jets will be a hard out.

Team leaders: It’s a deep Winnipeg team, with 10 players having at least 30 points on the season. Longtime Jets forward Mark Scheifele leads the way with 58 points on 19 goals and 39 assists, while Josh Morrissey is tied for seventh among league defensemen with 56 points (eight goals, 48 assists). Nikolaj Ehlers has a 19-28-47 line, while Kyle Connor’s 28 goals lead the team. Nino Niederreiter (18-15-33), Adam Lowry (10-22-32), Cole Perfetti (14-17-31), Mason Appleton (12-19-31), Vladislav Namestnikov (8-23-31) and Gabriel Vilardi (16-14-30) are all within three points of one another.

In net, Connor Hellebuyck is having a Vezina-caliber season, posting a 30-15-3 record on the campaign with a 2.33 GAA and .921 save percentage,

What's new: Winnipeg is no longer atop the NHL standings like they were when these teams met in early January, but the Jets are still playing good hockey. After a five-game losing streak around the All-Star break, Winnipeg is 12-5-0 in its last 17 games and fortified the roster at the deadline, adding Tyler Toffoli (26 goals in 61 games this year with New Jersey) and defenseman Colin Miller from New Jersey. Health has been key for the Jets – they've used just 28 players on the season – but Vilardi recently hit injured reserve with an enlarged spleen and is out indefinitely.

Trending: Columbus had points in five straight games (4-0-1) in the series before the January meeting, where the Jets suffocated the Jackets on the way to a 5-0 win in Manitoba.

Former CBJ: None

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)

Johnny Gaudreau – Boone Jenner – Alex Nylander
Alexandre Texier – Cole Sillinger – Kirill Marchenko
Trey Fix-Wolansky – Dmitri Voronkov – Mikael Pyyhtia
Mathieu Olivier – Brendan Gaunce – Carson Meyer
Zach Werenski – Jake Bean
Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson
Jake Christiansen – Erik Gudbranson
Elvis Merzlikins
Daniil Tarasov

Scratches: Adam Fantilli (calf laceration, out eight weeks as of Jan. 31), Justin Danforth (concussion), Sean Kuraly (lower-body injury, week to week), Yegor Chinakhov (upper body injury, day to day), Adam Boqvist (upper body)

Injured reserve: Kent Johnson (torn labrum in left shoulder, out for season)

Roster Report: Merzlikins will go in the net while the Jackets will try left-handed shot defenseman Jake Bean on the right tonight.

3 Stats to Know

• Alex Nylander’s eight goals since joining the Blue Jackets are a franchise record for a player in his first 11 games with the team. Patrik Laine (2021) and Antoine Vermette (2009) previously had six goals in their first 11 contests with the team. The last player to record at least eight goals through their first 11 games with a franchise was Elias Petterson (10 goals in 11 GP in 2018-19 with Vancouver).
• With his goal Thursday night, Boone Jenner notched his fourth career 20-goal season, making him just the fourth CBJ player to have four such campaigns in team history. He joins Rick Nash (eight), Cam Atkinson (six) and R.J. Umberger (four). He added a 21st goal in Saturday night’s game.
• Milestone watch: Damon Severson is set to play in his 700th career NHL game tonight (64-219-283, 699 GP). ... Ivan Provorov is also set to reach a milestone, as he will play in his 600th NHL game tonight (70-176-246, 599 GP). ... With 202 career assists, Zach Werenski is two helpers from tying David Vyborny for second in team history.

Who’s Hot

Daniil Tarasov has posted a .942 save percentage in his last eight appearances, stopping 261 of 277 shots against and allowing just 16 goals. ... Alexandre Texier saw a career-best five-game point streak end Tuesday but still has six points (2-4-6) in the last eight games and is plus-3 in that span of games. ... Dmitri Voronkov has 17 goals on the year, tied for third among NHL rookies. His 31 points are also tied for sixth ifth among NHL rookies. ... Johnny Gaudreau has 21 points (4-17-21) in the last 20 games. ... The team’s rookie stat line of 30-37-67 is first in the NHL in goals and third in points.

This Day in CBJ History

March 17, 2018: Columbus is 1-9-1 all-time on St. Patrick’s Day, with the lone victory coming on this date. The Blue Jackets post a 2-1 win over Ottawa at Nationwide Arena, with Boone Jenner tying the score at 1 in the first period and Markus Nutivaara scoring the winning goal on the power play in the second. Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves in what was the Jackets’ seventh straight victory.