Sunday, March 17, 2024 – 6:00 PM ET
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
TV: Bally Sports Ohio – Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Arctic Hockey
Winnipeg Jets (42-19-5, 89 points, 3rd Central, 4th West)
at
Columbus Blue Jackets (23-33-11, 57 points, 8th Metro, 16th East)
The Blue Jackets were able to grind out a 4-2 win over San Jose last night, despite getting outshot 41-20. Needless to say, they’re going to need to play better tonight. Winnipeg may have fallen to third in the division after contending for the President’s Trophy through the midway point, but they’ve got multiple games in hand, and a win would vault them over Colorado and Dallas based on Games Played.
Player to Watch
Alex Nylander, again
So for yesterday’s preview, I did the math on what pace Nylander would be on if he played the whole season for us. He then got two goals and an assist. Is this at all sustainable? Probably not, but let’s enjoy the memes and run it back anyways, comparing him to the team leaders.
8 goals in 11 games -> 49 goals through 67 games, 48 more than Boone Jenner
11 points in 11 games -> 67 points through 67 games, 17 more than Johnny Gaudreau
2 powerplay goals in 11 games -> 12 through 67 games, 5 more than Kirill Marchenko
To put it another way, if Alex Nylander keeps his current pace for the remaining 14 games this season, he’ll finish with 18 goals on the season. That’d put him second on the team right now.
Game Notes
Everyone’s still injured. … Jake Bean left the game briefly yesterday after blocking a shot, but returned and is expected to play tonight. … The Jets are very good at hockey, and got Sean Monohan and Tyler Toffoli in the leadup to the trade deadline to get even better at hockey. … Expect Elvis Merzlikins to start tonight after Tarasov’s excellent performance yesterday.
Season Series
1/9/2024 – CBJ 0 at WPG 5
3/17/2024 – Winnipeg at Columbus
Stats
| Winnipeg | Columbus | |
| 3.09 (17) | GPG | 2.93 (23) |
| 2.36 (1) | GAPG | 3.55 (30) |
| 19.4% (20) | PP% | 14.1% (31) |
| 77.7% (22) | PK% | 77.2% (23) |
| 51.9% (8) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 48.5% (22) |
| 52.1% (7) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 48.4% (21) |
| 8.3% (22) | 5v5 Shooting % | 9.2% (9) |
| .938 (1) | 5v5 Save % | .912 (18) |
| Kyle Connor, 28 | G Leader | Boone Jenner, 21 |
| Josh Morrissey, 48 | A Leader | Johnny Gaudreau, 39 |
| Mark Scheifele, 58 | P Leader | Johnny Gaudreau, 50 |
| Brenden Dillion, 81 | PIM Leader | Erik Gudbranson, 59 |
| 19-10-3 | Home/Road | 13-17-5 |
| 6-4-0 | Last 10 | 4-5-1 |
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Johnny Gaudreau | Boone Jenner | Alex Nylander |
| Alexandre Texier | Cole Sillinger | Kirill Marchenko |
| Mikael Pyyhtia | Dmitri Voronkov | Trey Fix-Wolansky |
| Carson Meyer | Brenden Gaunce | Mathieu Olivier |
| Zach Werenski | Damon Severson |
| Ivan Provorov | Jake Christensen |
| Jake Bean | Erik Gudbranson |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
| Daniil Tarasov |
Winnipeg Jets
| Kyle Connor | Mark Scheifele | Alex Iafallo |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | Sean Monahan | Tyler Toffoli |
| Nino Niederreiter | Adam Lowry | Mason Appleton |
| Morgan Barron | David Gustafsson | Vladislav Namestikov |
| Josh Morrissey | Jason Demelo |
| Brenden Dillion | Neal Pionk |
| Logan Stanley | Nate Schmidt |
| Connor Hellebuyck |
| Logan Brossoit |
Play Me Out
It’s St. Patrick’s Day! My dad’s friend Brian is in a local Irish band called the Drowsy Lads, so I figured I’d give them a shoutout. They’re playing two shows today, at Byrne’s Pub at 4:00 and the Natalie’s in Grandview at 8:30. Here’s their song “A Close Shave.” If you aren’t going to the game, go see them (no DUIs though, you hear me?)