Jets Crush Blue Jackets, Complete Season Sweep In 6-1 Victory

By Coby Maeir on March 17, 2024 at 8:41 pm
Winnipeg Jets right wing Tyler Toffoli (73) shot attempt slides wide of the goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the first period at Nationwide Arena.
© Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
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Winnipeg's second line of Nikolaj Ehlers, Sean Monahan, and Tyler Toffoli powered the Jets to a 6-1 victory over the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Sunday.

  1 2 3 F
BLUE JACKETS 0 0 1 1
WPG JETS 1 4 1 6

1st Period

Winnipeg opened the scoring at 1:6 when a wide-open Kyle Connor took a feed from Mark Scheifele and a fired snapshot from the slot past Elvis Merzlikins.

The Blue Jackets nearly tied the game at 4:36 when Ivan Provorov's left-point shot hit the crossbar. 

Winnipeg responded by nearly doubling the lead on the power play at 12:32 when Ehlers' shot trickled past Merzlikins, but Erik Gudbranson was able to clear the puck out of harm's way. 

The Jets led 1-0 after 20 minutes despite trailing 11-7 in shots on goal. 

2nd Period

Ehlers would double the Winnipeg lead at 1:10 with a snapshot from the left circle off a no-look backhand feed from Toffoli. 

Toffoli added to Winnipeg's lead at 9:45 with a shot from the slot on the rush that started after Kirill Marchenko was dislodged off the puck against the boards in the Blue Jackets' offensive zone. 

Logan Stanley made it 4-0 Jets at 12:00 with a left-point slapshot through a screen. 

The Jets extended their lead to five at 18:24 when Vladislav Namestnikov took the rebound from Pionk's blast that took a weird carom off the backboards and roofed a left-circle shot past Merzlikins, who was halfway out of the net. 

Winnipeg led 5-0 after 40 minutes and took a 20-19 advantage in shots on goal into the third period. 

3rd Period

Brendan Gaunce got the Jackets on the board at 0:39 when he cleaned up a rebound in the crease for his second goal of the season. 

Winnipeg thought they regained a five-goal lead at 4:34 when Morgan Barron deflected a long shot past Merzlikins, but the goal was taken off the board because he scored with a high stick.

Toffoli scored his second of the game at 17:34 after intercepting Damon Severson's pass and beating Merzlikins on a breakaway.

With the 6-1 loss, the Blue Jackets fall to 23-34-11. 

Stats

  • Shots on Goal: WPG 27-31 CBJ
  • Face-off %: WPG 45.8-54.2 CBJ
  • Power play: WPG 0/1-0/2 CBJ
  • Giveaways: WPG 1-8 CBJ
  • Takeaways: WPG 2-3 CBJ
  • Blocked shots: WPG 22-11 CBJ
  • Hits: WPG 8-10 CBJ
  • 5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
    • Expected Goals (xG): WPG 2.41-1.51 CBJ
    • Shot Attempts (CF): WPG 42-54 CBJ
    • Shots on Goal (SF): WPG 25-24 CBJ
    • Scoring Chances (SCF): WPG 21-25 CBJ
    • High-Danger Chances (HDCF): WPG 11-8 CBJ

Injury Update

  • Adam Boqvist is out with an upper-body injury sustained on Thursday against the Ottawa Senators. There is no timetable for his return. 
  • Sean Kuraly is week-to-week with a lower-body injury sustained on Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens.
  • Yegor Chinakhov is day-to-day with an upper-body injury he suffered during Tuesday's against the Canadiens. 
  • Justin Danforth suffered a concussion on Mar. 7. There is no timetable for his return.
  • Kent Johnson has been placed on injured reserve with a torn labrum in his left shoulder that will sideline him for the remainder of the season. He underwent successful surgery on March 7 and is expected to make a full recovery in six months.
  • Patrik Laine entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Jan. 28 and will be away from the team indefinitely.
  • Adam Fantilli suffered a calf laceration on Jan. 28 and is expected to miss eight weeks.

Next Up

The club will kick off its five-game road trip on Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

They'll continue their road trip on Friday against the Colorado Avalanche at 9 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.

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