Winnipeg Jets give Columbus Blue Jackets clinic in blowout win: 3 takeaways
During a season of teachable moments, the Blue Jackets got a cold one Tuesday night in Winnipeg.
More: GM Jarmo Kekalainen on Columbus Blue Jackets at midpoint: 'We've got to keep climbing'
Matched up against the NHL’s top team, the Jackets got a firsthand look at what coach Pascal Vincent wants them to become in a 5-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre.
The Jets (27-9-4), whom Vincent worked with for 10 years for as both an NHL assistant and AHL head coach, made life difficult for the Jackets in numerous ways. They forced key turnovers, controlled the puck for stretches that led to goals and played strong defensively in front of goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who made 29 saves for his second shutout of the season and first against Columbus in his career.
“They’re No. 1 in the league, and there’s a reason for it," Vincent said. "They don’t give anything. They’re patient with their offensive game, really intense with their defensive game and they have an elite goaltender. So, they can play any style. That's what we faced tonight."
Columbus outshot Winnipeg 29-23 overall, but the Jets' effort was a clinical takedown of the youthful Blue Jackets (13-20-9), who are missing injured captain Boone Jenner (jaw), star defenseman Zach Werenski (ankle), former Jets star Patrik Laine (collarbone), veteran center Sean Kuraly (abdominal injury) and defenseman Nick Blankenburg (upper body).
After taking a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal by Brenden Dillon, Winnipeg tacked on two more in the second on goals by Cole Perfetti and Josh Morrissey for a 3-0 lead starting the third. That was more than enough for Hellebuyck and the Jets' defense.
Perfetti, who finished with three points on two goals and one assist, added his second goal early in the third for a 4-0 lead. Gabe Vilardi tacked another one on the board during a Winnipeg power play before the final horn mercifully sounded for the Jackets, who started goalie Daniil Tarasov for the third straight game.
“They’re predictable in how they play the game," Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson said. "They know exactly where it’s going before the play’s made, and there’s a reason why they’re at the top of the league right now.”
Here are three takeaways:
Winnipeg Jets are what Columbus Blue Jackets strive to become
The game’s underlying advanced metrics mostly favored Winnipeg, but they were split fairly even.
The main reasons the Jets put away the Blue Jackets by a lopsided score were Hellebuyck's goaltending and his team's disciplined play within their defensive system. Winnipeg doesn’t give opponents time to breathe with the puck or space to operate, and the Jets defend the middle of the ice vigorously.
It’s stifling when they stick to the plan, which the game’s heat map on Natural Stat Trick shows.
According to the location of shot attempts each way, it’s clear the Jets owned the slots between the circles at both ends and buzzed around the Columbus net. They also forced costly turnovers and shut down the Blue Jackets’ speed game in transition.
They provided a great blueprint for the Blue Jackets to follow.
“It was a test tonight,” forward Justin Danforth said. “Obviously, we’ve got to learn how to play that way and how to match that style of play.”
It’s a style that Vincent envisions the Blue Jackets using to frustrate opponents when their core of young talent matures through experience. It’s not a style that will keep fans on the edge of their seat, but it could set the Jackets’ cannon off after victories more often.
“They’re very structured,” Gudbranson said. “There’s nothing flashy to their game whatsoever. It’s just very structured and predictable. You can tell they’re feeling it, and they played a good game.”
Daniil Tarasov gets a third straight start for Columbus Blue Jackets over Elvis Merzlikins
The Blue Jackets’ goaltending situation is getting strange.
Tarasov faced the Jets in his third straight start and fourth in the past five games. Spencer Martin backed him up for the third straight game and fourth time in the past five. Elvis Merzlikins, meanwhile, was a healthy scratch for the third straight game and fourth time in the past five games.
Merzlikins is supposed to be the Jackets’ main net-minder and is only in the second season of a five-year deal that has a $5.4 million charge against the NHL salary cap. He hasn’t played since leaving a start after one period with an undisclosed illness Dec. 29 at Nationwide Arena in the Jackets’ 6-5 overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Since then, he’s only acted as the backup once despite being a full practice participant.
Vincent has said recently the coaching staff has a plan to keep all three goalies sharp, and that playing Tarasov tackles two objectives at the same time. It allows Tarasov to make up for lost time after missing the first 31 games with a knee injury, and it gives Merzlikins time to work on his form in practice.
That’s what Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said in a cryptic text message Tuesday when contacted by the Dispatch about Merzlikins’ recent absence from games.
“He is working on getting better every day,” Kekalainen said.
A source close to Merzlikins also told the Dispatch on Tuesday the goalie is "100% healthy" and said that undisclosed illnesses that forced the goalie to leave two starts early and miss three games in December aren’t related to the current situation.
Merzlikins has only appeared in two games, both starts, since picking up a roughing penalty that led to an overtime loss to the Washington Capitals on Dec. 21 at Nationwide Arena. After roughing up Tom Wilson inside the Blue Jackets’ net as retribution for things that happened in the game, Merzlikins was beaten with a shot by Alex Ovechkin on the ensuing power play to end the game.
Afterward, Merzlikins gave a full explanation that included a half-hearted apology for his actions leading to the loss. Vincent, meanwhile, laid the blame at Merzlikins’ feet and said he needed to control his emotions. Kekalainen, meanwhile, was spotted angrily stomping out of the Blue Jackets’ locker room that night as reporters entered to speak with Merzlikins.
It’s unknown whether that incident or Merzlikins’ ongoing illnesses — or something else — is what has kept him out of action the past five games. Stay tuned.
Winnipeg Jets extend winning ways with victory over Columbus Blue Jackets
Just how dominant are the Jets right now?
Well, they’re leading the NHL at 58 points with one game left in the season’s first half, they won their seventh straight game with the victory over Columbus, and they haven’t lost in regulation for 13 straight games (11-0-2).
The Jets also haven’t allowed more than two regulation goals since a 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 30, and downing the Blue Jackets made them 15-1-2 since the start of December. They also improved to 20-1-1 this season when leading after two periods.
What's most impressive about the Jets’ season is how they’re playing for coach Rick Bowness after feeling forced to trade center Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings last summer for a haul that included forwards Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari plus a 2024 second-round pick.
Iafallo and Vilardi have meshed perfectly into the Jets’ system, while Kupari carries the same potential once he’s back from an AHL conditioning stint with the Manitoba Moose ― Vincent’s team for five years before joining the Blue Jackets in 2021 as former coach Brad Larsen’s associate coach.
Get more Columbus Blue Jackets talk on the Cannon Fodder podcast
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 3 takeaways: Columbus Blue Jackets schooled by Winnipeg Jets
