By Joe Coopersmith

Jets to Watch

«  G Connor Hellebuyck, who was named to his fourth All-Star Game last Thursday has posted a 20-6-3 record with a 2.27 GAA and .921 SV% in 29 outings this season to rank second-T among NHL goaltenders in wins, third-T in GAA and sixth in SV% (min. 13 GP).

«  D Josh Morrissey ranks ninth-T among all NHL defensemen in scoring and leads club blueliners in goals, assists and points with 6-24-30 in 30 contests ranking ninth-T among all NHL blueliners in scoring.

«  C Mark Scheifele leads the Jets in assists and points and ranks second-T in goals with 14-26-40 in 39 games and has totaled 4-7-11 in 18 career contests against CBJ.

All-Time Series

«  Columbus has gone 17-14-1 in 32 all-time games against the Winnipeg franchise (incl. Atlanta), including 8-7-1 on the road.

«  The Blue Jackets have recorded points in five-straight meetings since Mar. 25, 2022 (4-0-1), including sweeping the 2022-23 season series.

«  The club has picked up points in each of its last two visits to Winnipeg with a 4-3 OT loss on Mar. 25, 2022 and a 4-1 win on Dec. 2, 2022.

«  CBJ own five of the six shutouts in the all-time series with Elvis Merzlikins earning the most recent one after stopping all 36 saves in a 3-0 win at Nationwide Arena on Nov. 24, 2021.

This Season (CBJ, 0-0-0)

«  Jan. 9, 2024 – at Winnipeg (8 p.m. ET)

«  Mar. 17, 2024 – at COLUMBUS (6 p.m. ET)

Player Notables vs. Jets

«  D Adam Boqvist – 1-3-4 in 5 career GP, including points in each of his last three contests (1-2-3) and points in both career games at Winnipeg (1-1-2).

«  LW Johnny Gaudreau – 11-20-31 in 29 career GP, including assists in six of his last eight contests against the club overall (0-9-9) as well as 5-5-10 in his last nine road contests after collecting 3 assists in the most recent game at Winnipeg on Dec. 2, 2022.

«  C Kent Johnson – 1-1-2 with points in both career GP, including an assist in his lone game at Canada Life Centre on Dec. 2, 2022.

BLUE JACKETS TEAM NOTES

• The Blue Jackets have recorded points in five of the last six (2-1-3) and 14 of the last 22 games (9-8-5) dating back to Nov. 22 following a 4-3 overtime loss to Minnesota on Saturday.
• Columbus has posted points in a season-high five consecutive road games since Dec. 14 (3-0-2).  Following a three-game homestand from Jan. 13-19, the club will play nine-of-10 games away from Nationwide Arena from Jan. 23-Feb. 22, including a five-game road trip from Jan. 23-30.
• The Blue Jackets have played in 19 one-goal games this season, including seven of the last 10, with another five contests as two goal finishes thanks to the addition of empty net goals (MR: Nov. 29 vs. Montreal).  The 19 one-goal games are tied for the fifth-most in the NHL.
• Columbus has played past regulation in six (2-4) of the last eight contests.  The last time the club played in at least six overtimes/shootouts over an eight-game stretch was when it played six-in-seven from Mar. 11-25, 2021.  CBJ have had 13 of their games decided after regulation this season, tied for the fourth-most in the NHL.
• CBJ have scored 74 goals over the last 22 games to rank tenth-T in the NHL in goals-per-game since Nov. 22 (3.36).
• The Blue Jackets have been held to less than two goals in just two of their past 15 contests since Dec. 5.
• CBJ rank second in the NHL with 93 goals scored at 5-on-5 play this season, trailing only Vancouver (101).
• Columbus ranks fifth-T in the NHL with 41 first period goals and seventh-T in first period goal differential (+6).
• The club has combined for 554 blocked shots over the past 30 games since Nov. 6 and is third in the NHL in blocked shots (763) and blocks-per-60 minutes (18.32).
• Blue Jackets blueliners have combined for 2-5-7 over the last two contests and for 9-49-58 over the past 25 contests.  They rank third among NHL defensive units in assists and fifth in points with 15-82-97 in 41 games this season.  The club also leads the league in assists percentage (39.6 pct.) and ranks third in points percentage (29.2 pct.) recorded by its defense.
• CBJ’s rookie class has combined for 19-34-53 in 41 games this season and ranks second among teams’ rookies in goals, assists and points.  The Blue Jackets are the only team in the league to have two rookies with 20 or more points in 2023-24 (Fantilli-24, Voronkov-20).

BLUE JACKETS PLAYER NOTES

• D Jake Bean has registered points two-straight games (1-1-2) and in four of his last six outings (2-2-4) after picking up an assist on Saturday.
• RW Yegor Chinakhov has registered points in eight of his last 13 games (7-5-12).  He has tallied 9-6-15 with eight even-strength goals and four multi-point games in the past 19 outings to rank seventh-T in the NHL in even-strength goals since Nov. 27.
• F Justin Danforth has registered 3-4-7 in the last 13 games and has already set single-season career highs in assists and points with 9-9-18 in 41 outings this season.
• C Adam Fantilli has registered points in five of his last seven games (2-3-5) and seven of the past 10 contests (3-5-8).  He recorded 7-6-13 in 14 December games to set franchise records for most goals (Balastik, 6 in 2005) and points (Dubois, 12 in 2017) by a rookie in the month.  The 2023 third overall pick ranks second-T among NHL rookies in points, third in goals and sixth-T in assists with 11-13-24 in 41 appearances this season.
• LW Johnny Gaudreau has recorded 3-7-10 in the last 11 games and 6-13-19 with five multi-point outings in his last 24 contests after collecting 1-5-6 in the first 17 games of the season.
• D David Jiricek ranks fourth among rookie NHL blueliners in assists and points (tied) with 1-8-9 in 35 contests.
• C Kent Johnson has posted 5-5-10 with three multi-point efforts in his last 14 games overall since Dec. 7.
• RW Kirill Marchenko has collected 9-4-13 in his past 22 games and is tied for the team lead in goals with 13-9-22 in 39 contests this season.  He has already set a new career high in assists after posting 21-4-24 in 59 contests during his 2022-23 rookie campaign.
• D Ivan Provorov ranks second on the club in assists, blocked shots and time on ice with 2-19-21 and 79 blocked shots, while averaging 23:03 TOI in 41 appearances this season.
• D Damon Severson has collected points in three of the last five games (2-2-4).  He has also recorded 4-3-7 with two multi-point efforts over his last 10 outings and leads club defensemen in goals with 5-7-12 in 26 appearances this season.
• 20-year-old C Cole Sillinger notched his second career hat trick (also Mar. 13, 2022 vs. Vegas) after scoring all three of the Blue Jackets’ goals vs. Minnesota on Saturday to become the first player in franchise history to record multiple three-goal outings before his 21st birthday.  He has registered 6-2-8 with two multi-point efforts and a +7 plus/minus rating over the past nine contests.
• G Daniil Tarasov, who has stopped 30-plus shots in each of his last three starts, ranks seventh in the NHL in SV% (min. 3 GP) since Dec. 30 after posting a 1-0-2 record with a 2.85 GAA and .925 SV% (111-of-120).
• LW Dmitri Voronkov has posted 1-2-3 in the past five games, 2-6-8 in his last 13 outings and 4-6-10 over the last 19 contests.  He ranks fifth among NHL rookies in points, sixth-T in assists and seventh-T in goals with 7-13-20 in 35 games this season.

BLUE JACKETS MILESTONES

• RW Emil Bemstrom is two games from 200 for his NHL career (30-38-68, 198 GP).
• LW Johnny Gaudreau is one point from 100 for his CBJ career (28-71-99, 121 GP).
• RW Kirill Marchenko is two games from 100 for his NHL career (34-13-47, 98 GP).
• C Jack Roslovic is one point from 200 for his NHL career (73-126-199, 405 GP).
• D Zach Werenski is 10 assists from 200 for his NHL career (80-190-270, 450 GP).

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT

• C Boone Jenner (fractured jaw) is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Dec. 9 (Approx. 6 Weeks); 12 games
• F Patrik Laine (clavicle fracture) is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Dec. 14 (Approx. 6 Weeks); 10 games
• D Nick Blankenburg (upper body) is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Dec. 19 (day-to-day); 8 games
• C Sean Kuraly (abdominal injury) is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Dec. 23 (Approx. 2-to-4 Weeks); 6 games
• D Zach Werenski (ankle); is on Injured Reserve on Dec. 29 (Approx. 4-to-6 Weeks); 5 games

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 155

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