PREVIEW: Blue Jackets put point streak on line in Winnipeg

The Blue Jackets hit the road tonight for the second half of a back-to-back against Winnipeg, and as it stands, Columbus holds the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference via tiebreaker.

The team pulled into that spot with last night’s 4-3 shootout win against Montreal, but it’s not a situation where you can rest on your laurels. The Blue Jackets are tied with both New York squads as well as Ottawa with 22 points on the year, with the teams holding the Nos. 7-10 spots in the East.

Philadelphia and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida are hot on their heels with 21 points, while Tampa Bay and Washington – two perennial playoff teams – are just two points back.

On the other hand, the Blue Jackets could be upwardly mobile if they continue the current five-game point streak (3-0-2) they’re on. Pittsburgh is just two points ahead of the Jackets in third place in the Metropolitan Division, and leaders New Jersey and Carolina are within shouting distance five points ahead.

It just goes to show you how tight things are in the Eastern Conference as we near the quarter pole, as well as how important points gained – and perhaps given – can be. The Blue Jackets learned that lesson a year ago when they finished just one win out of a playoff spot, and this year’s record through 19 games is improved from last year’s 8-9-2 mark.

Yet there was a little bit of frustration with ceding a two-goal lead to the Canadiens on Monday night, allowing Montreal to rally from a 3-1 deficit in the third to earn a point that could be crucial down the road.

“We’re not happy about it obviously,” Adam Fantilli said. “Sometimes it comes down to the wild card, but we don’t even want to be talking about the wild card right now. That’s not what we’re here for. We’re trying to get in the playoffs. We’re not trying to hope for it. Obviously you don’t want to give them a point. It sucks, but we got two tonight and that’s all we can really focus on.”

The road doesn’t get any easier tonight as well, as the flight to Winnipeg made for a late night before the Blue Jackets have to face one of the top teams in the Western Conference. While it may have been disappointing to allow Montreal back into the game, it would have been even worse to start a difficult back-to-back without getting the victory in Columbus.

“It’s a huge two points to start off this back-to-back,” Zach Werenski said. “It’s not the most ideal schedule in terms of a back-to-back, but other teams go through it. We’ll get on the plane, get to Winnipeg and just get ready for tomorrow.”

Scratches: F Yegor Chinakhov, D Dysin Mayo

Injured reserve/Non-Roster: Erik Gudbranson (upper body injury), F Boone Jenner (upper body injury)

Roster Report: Merzlikins will get the start in the second half of the back-to-back, while Del Bel Belluz re-enters the lineup in place of Chinakhov.

This Day in CBJ History

Nov. 18, 2021: Yegor Chinakhov scores the deciding goal in a shootout as the Blue Jackets take a 5-4 win at Arizona. Justin Danforth also notches his first career goal in the game.

Nov. 18, 2023: Boone Jenner skates in his 675th career game at Washington, passing Rick Nash for the most games played in franchise history.

The Numbers Game

With two points vs. Montreal, Kirill Marchenko extended his career-best point streak to 12 games (3-12-15) and has nine points in the last six games. The point streak is tied for the second longest in franchise history and is one shy of tying the CBJ record set by Ryan Johansen in 2014-15. Marchenko is also 4-for-4 in shootouts this season, and his 8-for-12 mark all-time is the best percentage (.667) of any player in team history with at least 10 attempts. ... Adam Fantilli has goals in four of the last five games and a 4-3-7 line in that span. … Blue Jackets defensemen have scored in 12 of 18 games so far this year, and the team’s 14 tallies from blueliners lead the NHL. … Zach Werenski is third in the NHL among defensemen in goals (five), is first in shots on goal (70) and places second in average time on ice (26:48). … Charlie Coyle has a 2-7-9 line in his last 10 games. … Elvis Merzlikins has 98 career victories, two shy of 100, heading into the game. ... The CBJ penalty kill is clicking at 90 percent (18 for 20) in the last 11 games, though the Blue Jackets were not whistled for a penalty for the 20th time in franchise history Monday. ... Werenski is one point from 400 in his CBJ and NHL careers; he would be the third Blue Jacket to reach the mark with the franchise following Rick Nash (547) and Cam Atkinson (402). ... Coyle is two points from 500 in his NHL career.

Know The Foe: Winnipeg Jets

Head coach: Scott Arniel (Second season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.22 (T-12th) | Scoring defense: 2.78 (8th) | PP: 24.1 percent (8th) | PK: 84.1 percent (8th)

The narrative: It’s the same story in Winnipeg, where the Jets are looking to get over the hump yet again. They have made the playoffs seven of the past eight years and captured the Presidents’ Trophy last season, but their lone conference finals appearance in that span came in 2016-17. Dating back to the start of the 2023-24 season, no team has won more games in the regular season than Winnipeg’s 119, but they’ve been unable to dethrone the Colorados, Vegases and Edmontons of the world come spring.

Scoring leaders: No surprises here, as the trio of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey leads the way. Coming off career-best seasons in points with 87 and 97 respectively, Scheifele (11-13-24) and Connor (10-12-22) give the Jets a pair of players who have both topped 10 goals and 20 points. With three straight top-10 finishes in the Norris Trophy voting under his belt, Morrissey is second among NHL defensemen in points with 19 thanks to three goals and 16 assists. Gabriel Vilardi adds 6-8-14 as well.

In net: Two-time reigning Vezina Trophy winner and last year’s Hart Trophy recipient Connor Hellebuyck is off to another solid start, though his numbers aren’t quite at last year’s MVP level when he led the league with 47 wins, a 2.00 GAA and eight shutouts. Hellebuyck is 8-6-0 with a 2.51 GAA and .913 save percentage, while Eric Comrie is 3-1-0 with a 2.75 GAA and .900 SV%.

What's new: The Jets lost high-scoring wing Nikolaj Ehlers to free agency this summer but still got off to a hot start, opening 9-3-0 before dropping four of the last six in regulation. The team’s biggest addition this offseason was signing three-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Toews, and the 37-year-old center has a 3-5-8 line and won 62.8 percent of faceoffs at age 37 despite missing the last two seasons.

Trending: Columbus has won two of its last three trips to Manitoba, posting a 4-1 victory against the Jets on Dec. 1 last season. It doesn't get much more even than this series; the Blue Jackets are 18-17-0-1 all-time against the Jets/Thrashers franchise and 4-3-1 the past four years.

Former CBJ: Gustav Nyquist has ended up in Winnipeg after playing for Minnesota, Nashville and then the Wild again since being traded from Columbus in 2023. Now 36, the 14^th-year NHL veteran is without a goal but has posted five assists in 13 games. Arniel also served as the Blue Jackets head coach from 2010-12.