Riding a five-game points streak, the Columbus Blue Jackets will look to continue their momentum when they visit the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.
Columbus is 3-0-2 in its last five games, with just one contest ending in regulation. The Blue Jackets saw a two-goal lead in the third period lead slip away on Monday against the Montreal Canadiens before Columbus prevailed 4-3 in a shootout.
This points streak comes on the heels of three straight regulation losses for the Jackets, yet “the resilience on this team is incredible,” defenseman Ivan Provorov said on the Amazon broadcast after Monday’s game.
“Obviously we went through a tough stretch a couple of weeks ago, but I think now we’ve found our game and we’re rolling pretty good,” Provorov said.
The Blue Jackets now will face the challenge of a quick turnaround and a trip to Winnipeg.
The Jets will begin a three-game homestand after going 2-4-0 during a six-game road trip against Pacific Division opponents. Winnipeg salvaged two wins on the back half of the trip, including a 4-3 shootout victory over the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
“It was a long two weeks,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said. “Some inconsistency, especially early on. We played some better games, better periods near the end of it. … (Now we) get home, we’re finally getting healthy.”
Morgan Barron and Cole Koepke each were activated from Winnipeg’s injured reserve on Monday. Barron has missed the Jets’ last six games and Koepke the last four, each with undisclosed injuries.
Winnipeg’s penalty-kill unit has struggled, as opponents are 7-for-24 on power plays over the Jets’ last seven games. Conversely, the Jets’ own power play has been heating back up, with a 4-for-8 showing over the team’s last three games.
The Blue Jackets’ special teams have started to stabilize after an ugly start to the season. Columbus is 3-for-8 on power plays over its last four games and 18-for-20 on penalty kills over its last 11.
Mark Scheifele leads the Jets in goals (11) and points (24). Josh Morrissey tops the team with 16 assists, and the defenseman has eight points (two goals, six assists) over a five-game point streak.
Kirill Marchenko is the Blue Jackets’ leader in assists (14) and points (22), and the forward is tied with Dmitri Voronkov for the team lead with eight goals.
Marchenko has 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) over a 12-game point streak and is on the verge of a place in the Columbus record books. A point against Winnipeg on Tuesday would tie Marchenko with Ryan Johansen (from the 2014-15 season) for the longest point streak in Blue Jackets history.
Connor Hellebuyck is expected to start in goal for the Jets on Tuesday. The reigning Hart and three-time Vezina Trophy winner is having another solid season, with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage in 14 games.
Elvis Merzlikins will start for the Blue Jackets, looking to improve on his 3.14 GAA and .908 save percentage in seven starts. Jet Greaves has started Columbus’ last five games, so Merzlikins will need some more consistent showings to regain an equal share of playing time.
