Winnipeg Puts Their Foot Down Early, Crushes Columbus At Home
Kyle Connor scored for the Jets just over a minute into the game, setting the tone for another Winnipeg beatdown of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Going into the third period, the Jets would hold a 5-0 lead in a game that was being thoroughly dominated by Winnipeg. Brendan Gaunce(2) would make it 5-1 only 39 seconds into the third period, but that would be all the CBJ could muster. Tyler Toffoli made it 6-1 with just under three minutes to play, putting the Jackets out of their misery on a chilly Sunday night in Columbus, Ohio.
Connor Hellebuyck stopped 30 of 31 CBJ shots, while his counterpart Elvis Merzlikins could only stop 21 of 27 Jets shots. Three of the last five starts by Merzlikins had been quality, but Sunday was not. He was punished by both poor play in front of him, and the Jets offensive pressure.
The Winnipeg Jets outscored the Jackets 11-1 in two games this season.
Final Stats
CBJ AppPlayer Notes
- Brendan Gaunce scored his 2nd goal of the season and 4th point.
- Mathieu Olivier tallied his 5th assist of the season. he now has 8 points.
- Jake Christiansen had 1 assist, his second of the season.
- Zach Werenski played 25:07 and was a -4, not his best game. He also had 3 shots.
Team Notes
- The Columbus power play went 0 for 2 and generated 5 shots on those power plays.
- The Blue Jackets penalty kill was perfect against the Jets. They were only able to get 1 shot on Elvis on that power play.
- The Jackets won 54.2% of their faceoffs.
- The Jackets blocked 11 shots, and now have a season total of 1,174.
What's Next - The Blue Jackets start a five-game road trip on Tuesday in Detroit.
More From THN Columbus
Join Jason Newland's Columbus Blue Jacket page on Bunches, a new app that connects sports fans. Also, you can watch a new YouTube game show about the Blue Jackets, Around the Fifth Line.