COLUMBUS, Ohio — Since he was hired last spring, Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell has dropped the following line repeatedly: “There will be games where we get out-skilled, but we shouldn’t ever be outworked.”
On Friday, the Blue Jackets’ effort against the NHL-best Winnipeg Jets wasn’t the issue. But the Jets ran roughshod past the Blue Jackets, taking them completely out of the structured, smart game they’ve flashed so far this season and rolling to a 6-2 win before 15,823 in Nationwide Arena.
Don’t expect the Blue Jackets to ever agree that they’ve been out-skilled, but that may have been the case on Monday. The Jets are 10-1-0 for a reason.
Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason was steamed that his club made so many soft passes, high-risk passes and slow-developing decisions in their own zone, but he did acknowledge that Winnipeg’s relentless pressure played the biggest part in that.
“That team put heat on us to make the mistakes,” Evason said. “If we were playing the way we’re capable of playing, getting pucks behind them and getting our forecheck going …
“We never had a forecheck all night. Not all night. There was no pressure, so sustained heat for us in any of the three zones, but especially in the offensive zone.”
Essentially, Winnipeg, fueled by Nikolaj Ehlers’ four-point night (3-1-4), did to the Blue Jackets what the Blue Jackets have done to a handful of opponents already this season during a surprising 5-4-1 start.
Winnipeg held a 44-22 advantage in shots on goal and a 72-45 edge in shot attempts, which includes attempts that were blocked or missed the net. Put another way: the Jets were in Columbus’ zone all night, and the Blue Jackets couldn’t reciprocate.
Sean Kuraly and Sean Monahan scored goals for the Blue Jackets, while Elvis Merzlikins — on the heels of two strong outings, including a shutout — had 38 saves. Monahan’s goal, on the power play, was the 250th goal of his career and his team-leading sixth of the season.
The Blue Jackets hung in there for a while.
KURLS WITH HIS FIRST OF THE SEASON 🚨@FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/vSM439qTfx
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 1, 2024
Kuraly scored his first of the season midway through the first period following a strong forecheck by the fourth line. James van Riemsdyk, who won a battle behind the net, found Kuraly coming through the slot for a one-timer to make it 1-1 at 11:02 of the first.
The Jackets fell behind 3-1 early in the second period, but late in the second they scored a power-play goal — Monahan tipped a point shot from defenseman Zach Werenski at 16:30 — to make it 3-2.
Ehler’s third goal of the game — his fifth career hat trick — made it 4-2, however, later in the second period, before Winnipeg pulled away in the third.
“We were going backward and holding on to the puck too long,” Kuraly said. “We want to (pass), we want to chip, we want to keep moving forward. When we’re not moving forward, when we’re not doing those things, it’s when we get in trouble.
“It’s pretty evident, usually, when we were getting scored on tonight, that it started somewhere with that.”
This is what the Jets have done all season. They came into the game with the highest-scoring offensive in the NHL, the fourth-stingiest defense and the best goal differential in the league. After Friday’s game, they’ve outscored opponents by 26 goals in 11 games.
OFFICIALLY MONNY’S POWER PLAY GOAL AND HIS 250TH CAREER GOAL AT THAT! 🎉@FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/CkqIl7824D
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 2, 2024
“They’re playing well,” said Monahan, who finished last season with Winnipeg after he was traded there by Montreal. “I don’t think we had a great game. We gave them a lot. We can learn from that game.”
There have been a lot of lessons taught recently between these two clubs. In the last three meetings with Winnipeg, the Jackets have been outscored 17-3. They lost 6-1 in Nationwide last Match 17.
“It’s a skilled team; they don’t give you much,” Werenski said. “I definitely think we could have been a little bit better, just in terms of making it harder on them. We just seemed a little bit sloppy tonight.”
The Blue Jackets, who play in Washington tonight, did get positive news on the injury front on Friday.
Forward Dmitri Voronkov, who suffered a shoulder injury in training camp, made his season debut, playing on the fourth line with Kuraly and van Riemsdyk. He was minus-3 with no shots on goal in 13 minutes, 24 seconds of playing time.
(Photo: Russell LaBounty / Imagn Images)
