COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS NOTES:
Dec. 2, 2022 Game No. 22 (7-12-2, 16 pts.)
at Winnipeg Jets (14-6-1, 29 pts.), Canada Life Centre Road Game No. 7 (1-4-1, 3 pts.) The Blue Jackets Press Box website, which includes game notes, stats, releases and video/audio clips as well as the 2022-23 Media Guide can be accessed at bluejackets.com/pressbox. Follow @BlueJacketsPR on Twitter for comprehensive information and updates on the team.
THE LAST GAME: NOV. 28, 2022 – CBJ 2 vs. VGK 3 (SO)
CBJ Goal Scorers: Gaudreau (8), Jenner (9)
VGK Goal Scorers: Karlsson (6), Carrier (8), SO – Cotter
Goalies: CBJ – Tarasov (34/36; 65:00); VGK – Thompson (26/28; 64:59)
CBJ PP: 0/2; PK: 4/4 | Shots: CBJ: 28 / VGK: 36
3 Stars: 1. Thompson, VGK; 2. Gaudreau, CBJ; 3. Cotter, VGK
Noteworthy: CBJ fell for 3rd-straight game (0-2-1)… It was the 1st overtime and shootout game in the all-time series… CBJ trailed 2-0 after the 1st period, but scored a goal in the 2nd and 3rd periods to tie the game… VGK won the shootout in the 7th round… Gaudreau notched his team-leading 6th multi-point game of the campaign (1-1-2)… Jenner scored his team-leading 9th goal of the season to give him 8-3-11 in the last 11 games… Nyquist recorded his 2nd multi-assist/point effort of the season (0-2-2)… Sillinger skated in his 100th career NHL game.
OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT
Danforth (torn labrum); Placed on Injured Reserve (Oct. 25); 6 months (15 games)
Boqvist (broken foot); Placed on Injured Reserve (Oct. 26); 6 weeks (13 games)
Voracek (upper body); Placed on Injured Reserve (Nov. 4); out indefinitely (10 games)
Blankenburg (ankle); Placed on IR (Nov. 10); 6-8 weeks (8 games)
Werenski (torn labrum); Placed on IR (retro to Nov. 10); Expected to miss rest of regular season (8 games)
Laine (ankle sprain); (7 games)
Merzlikins (hip); (7 games)
Bean (shoulder); Placed on IR (retro to Nov. 15); out indefinitely (6 games)
Olivier (illness); day-to-day (1 game)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 115
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Dec. 1 Activated Laine and Merzlikins off IR and assigned Tarasov to Cleveland (AHL)
Dec. 1 Signed 2022 2nd round pick Luca Del Bel Belluz and 2021 5th round pick James Malatesta to 3-year entry level contracts
Nov. 29 Assigned Sweezey to Cleveland (AHL)
Nov. 28 Recalled Berni from Cleveland (AHL) and assigned Gaunce to AHL club.
Nov. 25 Signed 2022 third round pick Jordan Dumais to three-year entry level contract
Nov. 24 Recalled Meyer from Cleveland (AHL) and assigned Bemstrom to Cleveland (AHL)
Nov. 20 Placed Merzlikins on Injured Reserve retroactive to Nov. 15 and recalled Fix-Wolansky from Cleveland (AHL)
Nov. 19 Recalled Sweezey from Cleveland (AHL)
TONIGHT’S GAME BROADCAST INFO
8pm ET | Bally Sports Ohio | 97.1 The Fan
AGAINST THE JETS
2022-23 Series: 0-0-0 (0-0-0 at WPG)
2021-22 Series: 1-0-1 (0-0-1 at WPG)
All-Time Series: 15-14-0-1 (7-7-0-1 at WPG/ATL)
Last 10 (Overall | Road): 5-4-1 | 5-4-1
All-Time GF/GA: 85/80
All-Time SF/SA: 920/871
All-Time PP: 21-of-110
All-Time PK: 99-of-118
THE LAST GAME: MAR. 22, 2022 – CBJ 3 at WPG 4 (OT)
CBJ Goal Scorers: PP – Boqvist (11), Gaunce (4), PP – Bjorkstrand (23)
WPG Goal Scorers: Toninato (6), SHG – Connor (41), PP – Morrissey (11), OT – Ehlers (20)
Goalies: CBJ – Merzlikins (29/33; 58:22); WPG– Comrie (33/36; 60:00)
CBJ PP: 2/2; PK: 1/2 | Shots: CBJ: 36 / WPG: 33
3 Stars: 1. Toninato, WPG; 2. Morrissey, WPG; 3. Roslovic, CBJ
Noteworthy: CBJ earned point for 5th time in last 7 games… CBJ tied game at 2 after trailing 2-0 and at 3 with 14 seconds remaining… CBJ scored a PPG (2 vs. WPG) for 4th-straight game… Bemstrom skated in 100th career NHL game… Voracek notched 43rd assist of the season to stretch points streak to 4-straight (1-3-4).
SEASON SERIES LEFT: Feb. 16 at CBJ
NOTED (Team Highlights vs. WPG)
The home team has won 6 of the last 7 meetings in the series, including 4-straight… Winning team has scored 3+ goals in 15 of the last 16 games, including 6-straight since 1/31/19… CBJ has scored a PPG in 6-straight games, converting on 50.0 percent of their chances over that stretch (9-of-18)… CBJ has 5 of the 6 shutouts all-time including the 1st game of the series this season on Nov. 24… Most goals scored at WPG: 6 (1/11/14)… Most goals allowed at WPG: 6 (12/10/15).
NOTED (Player Highlights vs. WPG)
Gaudreau recorded his 1st career assist on 10/19/14 at WPG, 100th career point on 12/22/15 vs. WPG (2nd goal), 100th career assist on 12/10/16 vs. WPG (2nd assist) and skated in his 500th career game on 3/27/21 vs. WPG… Gudbranson skated in his 300th career game on 3/1/16 at WPG)… Olivier made his NHL debut on 11/19/19 vs. WPG… Jenner scored his 1st career penalty shot attempt on 1/11/14 at Winnipeg, becoming the 2nd rookie in CBJ history to score a penalty shot goal and the 1st to score a GWG in that manner.
PLAYER NOTABLES vs. WPG
•Gaudreau – 11-16-27 in 27 career GP, including 0-5-5 in his last six games and seven career multi-point efforts vs. the club
•Jenner – 4-2-6 in 12 career GP, including 3-1-4 in four career road contests vs. the franchise
•Nyquist – 6-5-11 in 15 career GP, including points in three-straight games at Winnipeg (3-1-4) and five of the last six (3-3-6)
BLUE JACKETS NOTES
A LOOK AT DECEMBER
The Blue Jackets fell for a third consecutive game (0-2-1) following a 3-2 shootout loss to the Golden Knights on Monday. The club is now 4-3-2 in the last nine games overall. Monday’s game wrapped up a season-high seven-game homestand for the Blue Jackets (3-3- 1). The club concludes a two-game stretch against Western Conference teams with Friday’s game at Winnipeg. Columbus will play three-straight contests against the East from December 4-7 (Detroit, Pittsburgh and Buffalo). The Blue Jackets play 15 games in the month of December with two sets of back-to-back games (Dec. 6 at PIT/Dec. 7 vs. BUF; Dec. 19 vs. DAL/Dec. 20 at PHI).
TWO DIFFERENT STRETCHES
Nine of the club’s first 12 games were competed against teams that made the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, including facing off against the Stanley Cup champion Avalanche twice and Stanley Cup finalist once (Tampa Bay Lightning). The club is now at the end of a stretch of 11-of-13 contests from November 10-December 7 played against teams that failed to make the postseason. The only playoff teams over the second stretch are Florida (Nov. 20) and Pittsburgh (Dec. 6).
FROM THE BLUELINE
CBJ blueliners have collected 7-20-27 in the last 15 outings and 11-26-37 in 21 games this season to rank ninth-T in the NHL in goals. Defenseman Erik Gudbranson tallied two assists on Nov. 17 vs. MTL for his first multi-point game as a Blue Jacket as well as his third career multi-assist and seventh career multi-point effort. He is now one point from 100 for his NHL career with 27-72-99 in 661 games. Vladislav Gavrikov, who tallied an assist on Monday, notched his second career overtime winner and fifth career game-winning goal on Nov. 15 vs. the Flyers, finishing with 1-1-2, while also skating in a career-high 28:40 TOI (previous 28:20 on Apr. 22, 2022 vs. OTT). He became the fifth different defenseman in NHL history to score each of his first two or more goals of a season in overtime and is also one off the franchise record for overtime goals by a defenseman in a single season (3; Seth Jones, 2016-17 & 2018-19).
ROOKIE REPORT
The club currently has seven rookies on the roster with forwards Trey Fix-Wolansky, Liam Foudy, Kent Johnson and Carson Meyer along with defensemen Nick Blankenburg (injured), Marcus Bjork and Jake Christiansen. The skaters have had a strong start to the season, combining for 8-14-22 in 21 games. They have helped CBJ rank sixth-T among NHL teams in goals and fifth-T in points. Johnson, who notched his first career multi-point game on Nov. 25 vs. the Islanders with one goal and one assist, ranks fourth-T among NHL rookies in goals, sixth-T in points-per-game (.61; min. 10 GP) and seventh-T in points with 5-6-11 in 18 games. He has registered 2-3-5 in his last seven outings and 5-5-10 in his past 15 contests played. Bjork has 0-2-2 in the past four games (overall 1-3-4 in eight GP). The blueliner tallied points in his first two NHL games after scoring his first career goal in his NHL debut on Nov. 12 at NY Islanders and picking up his first career assist on Nov. 15 vs. Philadelphia. He is the first blueliner and seventh player overall in franchise history to score in his debut.
CAPTAIN BOONE JENNER
Boone Jenner scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season on Monday and finished the month of November with 8-3-11 in 11 contests, which was the third-most goals in the month in franchise history (tied). The forward ranks seventh-T in the NHL in goals scored at home this season with 9-5-14 in 15 outings. He also ranks 11th in the NHL in faceoff wins (256-of-454 faceoffs; 56.4 pct.). The 29-year-old, who was selected 37th overall at the 2011 NHL Draft, is the longest-tenured Blue Jacket in his 10th season with the club, including his second as the team’s captain. The forward skated in his 600th career game on Nov. 4 vs. Colorado, becoming just the third player to reach the milestone with the franchise. With his second goal on Nov.15 vs. Philadelphia, Jenner notched his 150th career goal with the Blue Jackets and became the third player to reach the milestone with the franchise, joining Rick Nash (289) and Cam Atkinson (213). He also ranks fifth on the franchise’s all-time list in points (299).
RK PLAYER TOTAL GP SEASONS WITH CBJ
- Rick Nash 674 2002-12 (9 seasons)
- Cam Atkinson 627 2011-21 (10 seasons)
- Boone Jenner 610 2013-current (10 seasons)
- Nick Foligno 599 2012-21 (9 seasons)
- David Savard 597 2011-21 (10 seasons)
HERE’S JOHNNY!
Left wing Johnny Gaudreau collected his second-straight multi-point effort with one goal and one assist on Monday and now has 3-10- 13 in his last nine games. He tied the franchise record for assists in the month of November with 3-11-14 in 11 outings (Andrew Cassels in November 2002). The six-time All-Star leads the club in assists and points and scoring and ranks second in goals with 8-14-22 in 21 games while recording points in 14 of his contests. The winger has done most of his damage at home with 8-12-20 in 15 outings, ranking eighth in the NHL in points. He played in his 315th consecutive game on Monday, the third-longest active iron man streak in the NHL and trailing only Phil Kessel (1,007) and Brent Burns (703). The Salem, New Jersey native, who signed a seven-year contract with Columbus in July, has collected 218-413-631 in 623 NHL games, including a career-high 40-75-115 in 82 games with Calgary last season when he earned First Team All-NHL honors.
TOUGH TO REPLACE Z
Zach Werenski recorded his first multi-point game of the season with 1-1-2 in a win over Philadelphia on Nov. 10 to extend his points-streak to three-straight games (1-3-4) before leaving the with an upper body injury. Unfortunately, that was the last CBJ will likely see the club’s top defenseman this regular season as it was announced Friday that he suffered a separated shoulder and torn labrum and likely to miss six months. He led the club’s blueliners in goals, assists and points at the time of the injury with 3-5-8 in 13 games. The two-time NHL All-Star blueliner set single-season career highs in assists, points and time on ice and posted the third-most assists (tied) and points by a defenseman in a single season in franchise history with 11-37-48 and 25:40 TOI in 68 games in 2021-22.
WINNIPEG JETS NOTES:
Scene Setter
The Winnipeg Jets continue their four-game homestand on Friday when the welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets to Canada Life Centre for the only time this season. Winnipeg started the homestand with a convincing 5-0 shutout of the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night to extend their winning streak to three games. The Jets will also host the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday and Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.
Last Game
Winnipeg Jets 5
Colorado Avalanche 0
Jets Scorers: Wheeler (5, 6, 7), Morrissey (5), Scheifele (12)
Colorado Scorers: None
Jets Goaltender: Connor Hellebuyck (40 sv, 0 ga)
Avalanche Goaltender: Alexandar Georgiev (18 sv, 5 ga)
Jets PP: 1-for-2
Jets PK: 3-for-3
Recap: The Jets needed just 23 shots to tally a handful of goals in a 5-0 shutout of the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night… Blake Wheeler tallied a hat trick and added an assist for a four-point night, while Cole Perfetti had three assists… Connor Hellebuyck made 40 saves for his third shutout of the season. Perfetti paced the Jets with a career high six shots.
Reach For the Top
The Jets are sixth in the NHL with a .690 points percentage, which also ranks first in the Central Division and third in the Western Conference… Winnipeg has won three games in a row for the third time this season… The last time the Jets won four games in a row was the final four games of last season.
November to Remember
The Jets went 9-3-0 in 12 games in November for a .750 points percentage, which was fifth in the NHL during the month… Winnipeg finished 84.4% on the penalty kill last month, which ranked fifth in the league, while the power play was 11th at 27.0%… The Jets are outscored their opponents 42-28 in November… Kyle Connor (7G, 10A) and Josh Morrissey (5G, 12A) led the Jets in scoring in November with 17 points in 12 games… The Jets were 6-6-2 in November last season.
Shooting Star
Josh Morrissey was named the NHL’s Second Star of the Week on Monday… He tallied seven points (3G, 4A) in four games, including a pair of overtime game-winning goals… Morrissey is tied for third in the NHL among defencemen with 25 points (5G, 20A) in 21 games, which also leads he Jets in scoring… Morrissey’s 20 assists rank third among NHL defencemen… He has an assist in 15 of his 21 games, including four games with multiple assists… He hasn’t gone consecutive games without a point this season and is on a five-game point streak for the second time this season (6 games – Nov. 3-17)… He had a goal and an assist on Tuesday for his seventh multi-point game of the season, which sets a career high… Morrissey is on pace for 78 assists and 98 points this season… His career high for assists is 26, which he did 65 games during the 2019-20 season… He had a career best 12 goals and 37 points in 79 games last season… Morrissey is on pace to become the first defenceman to lead the team in scoring in franchise history… The franchise record for points by a defenceman in a season is 56, which Dustin Byfuglien did in 2013-14… Byfuglien (4 times), Toby Enstrom (twice), and Jacob Trouba (once) are the only defencemen in franchise history to post 50 points or more in a season.
Busy Time of Year
After having no games on Nov. 30-Dec. 1, Winnipeg plays 16 games in 30 days from Dec. 2-31… The stretch includes three back-to-backs… The Jets only consecutive days off in December are from Dec. 24-26 for the Christmas break… The Jets only played eight games in December last season due to COVID-related postponements, going 4-3-1.
On the Brightside
The Jets are 32-for-37 (86.5%) on the penalty kill in their past 14 games and ended a three-game streak of allowing a power play goal on Tuesday… Winnipeg is seventh in the NHL this season with a penalty kill clicking at 82.1%… The last time the Jets had a penalty kill better than 82% was in 2013-14 when they finished the season at 83.2%… The franchise record for penalty kill percentage in a season is 85.2%, which occurred in Atlanta during the 2003-04 season… Dylan DeMelo and Adam Lowry lead the Jets in penalty kill time per game this season with 2:25 and 2:00, respectively… Lowry is one of six NHL players with at least two shorthanded goals this season, while DeMelo is one of five players with a pair of shorthanded assists.
Home Comforts
The Jets are 8-2-0 at Canada Life Centre to start the season and have won 12 of their past 15 home games dating back to last season… This is the first time the Jets have won eight of their first 10 home games to start a season… The 16 goals Winnipeg has allowed on home ice this season is the second fewest in the NHL… The Jets are outscoring their opponents 3.3-1.6 at home this season… Mark Scheifele (6G, 6A), Pierre-Luc Dubois (5G, 7A), Kyle Connor (5G, 7A), and Josh Morrissey (4G, 8A) share the team lead with 12 points in 10 playoff games… Connor Hellebuyck has been stellar on home ice this season, going 7-2-0 with a 1.22 goals-against average, .959 save percentage and three shutouts… Winnipeg is 237-151-36 all-time at Canada Life Centre and have posted a .500 record or better at home in six consecutive seasons.
On the Road
The Jets are back above .500 on the road this season at 6-4-1… Winnipeg hasn’t lost consecutive games in regulation on the road this season… Defenceman Josh Morrissey (1G, 12A) leads the Jets in scoring on the road with 13 points, while Mark Scheifele has a team leading six goals… Winnipeg’s first 15 road games are against Western Conference teams… The Jets were 16-17-8 on the road last season.
Facing Eastward
This is Winnipeg’s sixth game against an Eastern Conference opponent this season, having gone 3-2-0 so far… Six of Winnipeg’s next 12 games are against an Eastern Conference team… Pierre-Luc Dubois has a team leading seven points (3G, 4A) in five games against the Eastern Conference this season.
Helle-lean Form
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is 9-3-1 in his past 13 starts while having a 2.15 goals-against average, .935 save percentage and three shutouts… He’s won three consecutive starts for the second time this season… The stretch started with a 25-save shutout against the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 24… On the season, Hellebuyck is third in the NHL with a .931 save percentage… With Tuesday’s 40-save effort, he’s 4-0-1 with a 2.17 goals-against average and .949 save percentage in five games this season when facing at least 40 shots.
Goal Leaders
Mark Scheifele leads the Jets with 12 goals this season and is averaging a career best .57 goals per game… He’s scoring 1.6 goals per 60 minutes of ice time, which is also a career high… Pierre-Luc Dubois has 10 goals in 21 games for a career best .48 goals per game… He also scoring a career best rate with 1.6 goals per 60 minutes of ice time.
20 Club
The Jets have four players with 20 points this season, which is tied for second in the NHL… That doesn’t include leading goal scorer Mark Scheifele, who needs two more points to give the Jets an NHL leading five players with 20 points.
Multi-Point Efforts
Tuesday’s game was the seventh time this season the Jets have had three players register two or more points in the same game… Josh Morrissey leads the team with seven multi-point outings, while Kyle Connor has five… Connor leads the team with three three-point games… Blake Wheeler’s four-point night was the first time this season a Jets player had four points in a game… Wheeler has multiple points in three consecutive games, which is halfway to the franchise record of six games done by Ilya Kovalchuk in 2006 and Marian Hossa in 2007.
The Rookie
Cole Perfetti is second in NHL rookie scoring with 14 points (4G, 10A) in 21 games… He has eight of his 14 points on home ice… He’s also fourth among NHL rookie forwards with an average of 15:11 ice time per game… Perfetti could become the fifth rookie in franchise history to post 50 points in a season, previously done by Dany Heatley (67 – 2001-02), Patrik Laine (64 – 2016-17), Kyle Connor (57 – 2017-18), and Ilya Kovalchuk (51 – 2001-02).
On The Power Play
The Jets are 14-for-67 (20.9%) on the power play through the first 21 games of the season… Winnipeg is 3-for-6 with the extra man in the past two games… The Jets have scored nine of their 31 power play goals in their past 11 games, going 9-for-35 (25.7%) … Pierre-Luc Dubois (4G, 4A), Kyle Connor (2G, 6A), and Josh Morrissey (1G, 7A) lead the Jets with eight points on the power play this season.
Extra Time
The Jets are 6-1 in overtime this season… Winnipeg’s seven OT games are the most in the NHL this season and the Jets are the only team with six wins in overtime… Five of Winnipeg’s six OT winners have come in the first two minutes of the extra session… Mark Scheifele holds the franchise record with 12 OT winning goals… The six wins is one better than the five overtime wins Winnipeg had last season in 12 games decided in OT… During the past three seasons, Winnipeg is 17-9 in games decided in overtime.
Goal-Games
The Jets have won their past two games by a season best five goals… Winnipeg’s previous four wins came by one goal… The Jets have seven victories by at least two goals, while five of Winnipeg’s six regulation losses this season have come by three goals… Eleven of Winnipeg’s 21 games this season have been decided by three goals or more, with the Jets going 6-5.
Zeros
The Jets have registered three shutouts this season, which is tied for first in the NHL… Winnipeg’s first two shutouts were by 4-0 scores (Oct. 24 vs. STL and Nov. 5 vs. CHI), while Tuesday’s 5-0 shutout gives the Jets all three shutout wins by at least three four goals… The Jets had five shutouts last season, which is two shy of the franchise record.
Comebackers
The Jets have come from behind in six of their 14 wins this season… Four of the comebacks have been from one goal, while two were from two goals… The Jets also have a pair of third period comebacks this season.
Games Played Leader
Blake Wheeler became the franchise leader in games played last Friday in Dallas… He’s played 846 games for the franchise, which is now three more than Bryan Little for the most in franchise history… Wheeler has played 414 of the 846 games at Canada Life Centre, which is the most by any NHL player in league history… Wheeler and Little are the only two players in franchise history to play in 800 games for the franchise.
