Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 8:00 PM ET
Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, MB
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Columbus Blue Jackets (13-19-9, 35 points, 8th Metro, 15th East)
at
Winnipeg Jets (26-9-4, 56 points, 1st Central, 1st West)
It’s frigid this time of year in Winnipeg. Luckily for Jets fans, their team is not cold. In fact, they are the hottest team in the NHL right now. Just in time for them to get a visit from the Blue Jackets.
Player to Watch
Cole Sillinger
After a rough sophomore campaign and a slow start to this season, Sillinger has started to heat up. He is 6-2-8 in his last 10 games, including a hat trick. He has also come to life away from the puck, showing solid play in the neutral and defensive zones. He is 48.1% from the faceoff dot in that same 10-game span – that’s not great, but it’s certainly an improvement on his career numbers.
Are we finally seeing Cole turn the corner?
Jackets Notes
The Jackets have not lost two consecutive games in regulation since they dropped four in a row from November 14-19 … Jenner has started to skate with the team. He’s wearing a protective cage and could still be a few weeks away, but that’s still a good sign. It seems likely he will be healthy for the all-star game … Kuraly and Laine have not started skating yet – the latter is likely still a couple of weeks away … No word on Blankenburg, but it seems likely he will be heading back to Cleveland when healthy, barring any other defensive injuries.
The Other Bench
No Kyle Connor? No problem. Winnipeg’s star (and most underrated) player has been out of the lineup with a knee injury. The Jets have decided to go streaking anyway. They are 8-0-2 in their last 10 games and have only 1 regulation loss in their last 17. They now sit in first place in the league standings. Not bad for a team that some thought would be sellers.
Season Series
01/09/24 CBJ @ WPG
03/17/24 WPG @ CBJ
Stats
| Winnipeg | Columbus | |
| 3.38 (9) | GPG | 3.05 (19) |
| 2.38 (1) | GAPG | 3.63 (30) |
| 17.6 (23) | PP% | 14.9 (25) |
| 75.2 (26) | PK% | 80.2 (16) |
| 52.08 (9) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 46.76 (25) |
| 52.28 (7) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 46.95 (25) |
| 9.34 (10) | 5v5 Shooting % | 10.1 (3) |
| 93.86 (1) | 5v5 Save % | 90.99 (19) |
| Kyle Connor, 17 | G Leader | K. Marchenko, B. Jenner, 13 |
| Mark Scheifele, 26 | A Leader | Zach Werenski, 24 |
| Mark Scheifele, 40 | P Leader | Z. Werenski, J. Gaudreau, 25 |
| Brenden Dillon, 49 | PIM Leader | Erik Gudbranson, 51 |
| 13-5-2 | Home/Road | 5-8-5 |
| 8-0-2 | Last 10 | 3-3-4 |
Projected Lines
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Johnny Gaudreau | Adam Fantilli | Justin Danforth |
| Yegor Chinakhov | Jack Roslovic | Kirill Marchenko |
| Emil Bemstrom | Cole Sillinger | Kent Johnson |
| Alexandre Texier | Dmitri Voronkov | Mathieu Olivier |
| Damon Severson | Adam Boqvist |
| Ivan Provorov | David Jiricek |
| Jake Bean | Erik Gudbranson |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Spencer Martin |
Winnipeg Jets
| Nikolaj Ehlers | Mark Scheifele | Gabriel Vilardi |
| Cole Perfetti | Vladislav Namestnikov | Alex Iafallo |
| Nino Neiderreiter | Adam Lowry | Mason Appleton |
| Morgan Barron | Dominic Toninato | Axel Jonsson-Fjallby |
| Josh Morrissey | Dylan Demelo |
| Brenden Dillon | Neal Pionk |
| Dylan Samberg | Nate Schmidt |
| Connor Hellebuyck |
| Laurent Brossoit |