Jets overwhelm Blue Jackets

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This article was published 01/11/2024 (341 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

COLUMBUS — They fire off a cannon at Nationwide Arena every time the Columbus Blue Jackets score a goal, something visiting players and media often say results in a jump scare. It’s really that loud.

However, it was the high-flying Winnipeg Jets who made the most noise on Friday, blasting the home team by a 6-2 score to improve to a seismic 10-1-0 on the season.

Hockey’s hottest, highest-scoring team is showing no signs of slowing down.

“Up and down the lineup we have so much talent and so much skill,” said goaltender Eric Comrie.

Indeed, Winnipeg once again brought out the big guns in this one, with Nikolaj Ehlers leading the way with his fifth career hat trick along with an assist. All-star defenceman Josh Morrissey had a goal and a helper while Gabe Vilardi and Mason Appleton rounded out the scoring.

Winnipeg has lit the lamp 52 times in 11 games, which is tops in the league. Putting up at least a half-dozen, as they’ve now done on five occasions including both games on this road trip, seems like a natural occurrence.

“It’s the pressure we’re putting on teams,” explained coach Scott Arniel.

“When you get teams caught on the ropes there a little bit and getting tired and start zone-timing them, that’s when we try to keep our foot on the gas and keep the pressure on them. It’s not always going to end up that way, but you gotta take what’s being handed to you right now.”

Columbus came into the game on a 3-0-1 run and were the top offensive team in the league at five-on-five early this season. So they were no easy targets, even if the Jets ultimately made short work of them. To be honest, the final score flattered the Blue Jackets.

Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins was the only thing that kept Winnipeg from hitting double-digits. He faced a whopping 44 shots and 72 shot attempts on the night as his club now falls to 5-4-1 overall.

Let’s break this one down further:

1) Warming up: Turns out Ehlers had a hunch he was in for a good game.

“Felt pretty good in warmup and Nino (Niederreiter) said he’d be pretty disappointed if I didn’t score tonight with that warm-up,” he told the Free Press.

Ehlers first goal was a thing of beauty as he streaked down the left wing and wound up with a blistering slap shot that went through Merzlikins’ five-hole and in and out of the net in the blink of an eye.

After Sean Kuraly tied it later in the first period, Ehlers gave his team the lead for good as he ripped a wicked wrist shot past the Blue Jackets netminder at 15:14. He’d complete the hatty late in the second period when Merzlikins tried to sweep a puck out of his crease, putting it right on Ehlers stick. When you’re hot, you’re hot, and the puck starts following you around.

“When you play the right way, you get those bounces. So that’s nice,” said Ehlers, who is up to seven goals through the first 11 games.

He’d later add an assist when, along with Mark Scheifele, he set up Morrissey for a blue-line blast on the power play midway through the third period.

“I don’t watch warmup but whatever fired up his engine, it was running,” said Arniel. “When he puts his speed on display like that, he’s hard player to defend.”

2) Good memories: Columbus holds a special place in Comrie’s heart. It’s where he made his NHL debut in 2017, picking up his first win as a late-season callup that year for the Jets.

“Seven years? Oh my goodness, gracious me. Seven years. I’m getting old, aren’t I?” he said with a laugh. “I was a little more jittery as a kid back then. I’m a little more older and wiser now. A little more calm now and just let things happen.”

It helps, of course, when you have the type of firepower Winnipeg does that can give you plenty of offensive support. Comrie is more than holding his own in spelling off Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck. The 29-year-old is now 3-0-0 with a 2.67 goals-against-average and .914 save percentage on the year.

“I think our offence is generated by good defence. If you look at the games, we come back so hard and backcheck so hard, we play great in our D-zone and take pride in what we do,” said Comrie.

Indeed, Winnipeg has surrendered 26 goals through 11 games, making them one of the stingiest squads as well.

“It forces teams to try other stuff and allows us to capitalize on their turnovers and mistakes,” he said. “I think we have a very skilled group with a lot of talent, and a commitment to defence, you can really see it every single night, goaltenders, our team, we just capitalized on the chances we get.”

One of Comrie’s best saves came early in the game as he calmly gloved down a Sean Monahan breakaway bid. Monahan would later beat him with a power play deflection in the second period.

Comrie finished with 20 stops in the night.

3) Connor the playmaker: Everyone talks about Kyle Connor’s goal-scoring abilities, which are among the best in the NHL. But don’t overlook his playmaking. He fed linemate Vilardi for the final goal of the game with a spinning, behind-the-back feed that should get plenty of play on highlight reels.

Connor — named the NHL’s second star for October earlier in the day — has 252 goals so far in his career, but he also has 251 assists. This was one of his finest and had Jets players still buzzing in the dressing room following the victory.

“He came down and made a great play. I’m sure everyone thought he was going to shoot the puck because he’s been red hot and then he made the play to Gabe. A very unselfish play,” said Arniel.

Vilardi is now up to four goals, all of which have come in the past five games.

4) Afterburner:

Key play: Appleton’s goal just 2:20 into the second period came after some solid work from his line and gave the Jets a two-goal cushion, which was plenty on this night. His fourth of the year ultimately proved to be the game-winner.

Three stars:

1. Winnipeg RW Ehlers: 3 goals, 1 assist

2. Winnipeg D Morrissey: 1 goal, 1 assist

3. Columbus G Merzlikins: 38 saves

5) Extra, extra:

-Team Canada management was in the building once again. On Wednesday in Detroit, where the Jets won 6-2. Boston general manager Don Sweeney and Tampa Bay GM Julien Brisebois watched from the press box. On Friday, it was Sweeney and Pittsburgh GM Kyle Dubas.

Neither the Red Wings or the Blue Jackets have any real high-end Canadian talent, so there’s a good chance they are scouting the likes of Morrissey, Scheifele and even Adam Lowry for possible spots at both the 4 Nations Face Off next February and even the national Olympic team for 2026.

-The same three Winnipeg skaters were scratches in forward David Gustafsson and defencemen Haydn Fleury and Dylan Coghlan, but Arniel said prior to the game he has “a plan” to ensure they don’t sit and wait too long.

-The Jets now head home to play four straight games at Canada Life Centre beginning Sunday afternoon against the Lightning.

“We’ll just make sure we’re mindful of that, that we go home and we don’t take our foot off the gas,” Arniel said, noting Winnipeg’s last showing at the downtown rink resulted in its only loss of the season (6-4 against Toronto last Monday).

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg