The Columbus Blue Jackets will try to extend their point streak to five games when they host the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night.
The Jets bounced back from their first loss of the season with a 6-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night.
In Columbus on Wednesday, Elvis Merzlikins made 26 saves for the Blue Jackets in a 2-0 win against the New York Islanders. It was his 11th career shutout.
Merzlikins also came within 27 seconds of a shutout on Monday before the Edmonton Oilers scored a power-play goal in a 6-1 Blue Jackets win. He has helped Columbus go 3-0-1 in its past four games.
“It feels really good to win the game right now,” Merzlikins said. “We just have to keep working as hard as we are working now. Just take it game-by-game, step-by-step, and move forward.”
Damon Severson and Justin Danforth scored for the Blue Jackets against New York. Danforth’s goal came during 6-on-5 play with 2:03 remaining.
“It’s great to get two points, obviously,” defenseman Ivan Provorov said. “Every time you win within the division, it’s a big step for your team. It was kind of a grinding game out there, a lot of hitting, a lot of battling, but we found a way to win and that’s a big improvement compared to last year.”
Blue Jackets Adam Fantilli, Mathieu Olivier and Kirill Marchenko each saw a three-game point streak end.
After concluding a three-game homestand Friday night, the Blue Jackets begin a five-game road trip Saturday at Washington.
As for the Jets, Kyle Connor had a goal and two assists in the first period, including his 500th NHL point, as Winnipeg defeated the Red Wings on Wednesday.
Playing against his hometown team, Connor moved to 502 points (252 goals, 250 assists) in 541 NHL games. He has 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in a 10-game point streak, extending the longest season-opening run in franchise history.
“We’ve been hoping to keep Kyle as our little secret up here, but 500 points might be tough to hide,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said. “He’s off to a great start this year and he’s an elite player in this league.”
Winnipeg has won nine of 10 games to start the season thanks to the triumph in Detroit. Neal Pionk scored twice, Gabriel Vilardi had a goal and an assist and Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves.
“I think that was a great response game,” Mark Scheifele said. “I thought we all stepped up. We obviously didn’t like our last one and that’s what good teams do.”
The only down note for the Jets was on the penalty kill. The Jets were a perfect 10-for-10 on the penalty kill in their past four games, but they gave up two power play goals to the Red Wings.
Injured Jets defenseman Ville Heinola (ankle surgery) and forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan (broken foot) have both started skating this week but are not traveling with the team.
–Field Level Media