By Joe Coopersmith

DEC. 8, 2024 II CANADA LIFE CENTRE II AT WINNIPEG JETS

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TV:  FanDuel Sports Network

Steve Mears (play-by-play), Jody Shelley (analyst), Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre (analyst), Dave Maetzold (reporter), Brian Giesenschlag (Host)

Radio:  97.1 The Fan   

Bob McElligott (play-by-play), Dylan Tyrer (host)

Jets to Watch

• LW Kyle Connor, who has notched 30-plus goals in six of his seven full NHL campaigns, ranks 10th-T in the NHL in goals and 16th-T in points with 14-18-32 in his first 28 contests in 2024-25.
• D Josh Morrissey ranks second-T among NHL blueliners in assists and fourth in points with 2-23-25 in 28 contests and has registered assists in three of his past five outings (0-5-5).

All-Time Series

• The Blue Jackets have gone 17-17-1 in 35 all-time games against the Jets franchise, including 8-8-1 on the road.
• CBJ have earned points in two of the last three games played at Winnipeg (1-1-1).
• The teams have each swept a season series over the last two campaigns with Columbus outscoring Winnipeg 7-2 in two wins in the 2022-23 campaign and the Jets outscoring the Jackets 11-1 in the 2023-24 series.
• The winning team has recorded four or more goals in 13 of the last 16 games of the series dating back to Dec. 10, 2015 and has limited the other team to one goal or less in five of the last seven since Nov. 24, 2021.
• The winning team has also recorded four-plus goals in 10-straight meetings at Winnipeg (CBJ; 4-5-1).
• Columbus has recorded five of the seven shutouts in the all-time series (MR CBJ: Merzlikins, 36 saves in 3-0 W at CBJ on Nov. 24, 2021) but Winnipeg recorded the most recent one in the last game in Manitoba (Hellebuyck, 29 saves in 5-0 WPG win on Jan. 9, 2024).

This Season (CBJ, 0-1-0)

• Nov. 1, 2024 – WPG 6, at CBJ 2
• Dec. 8, 2024 – at WINNIPEG (6 pm ET)

Player Notables vs. Jets

• LW Zach Aston-Reese – 3-2-5 in 8 career GP, including points in two of his four career games at Winnipeg (3-1-4) while setting single-game career highs in goals and points with 2-1-3 on Oct. 13, 2019.
• F Kent Johnson – 1-1-2 in 3 career GP, recording a point in each of his first two outings against the club.
• RW Kevin Labanc – 1-10-11 in 17 career GP, including assists in four of his past five contests at Winnipeg (0-5-5).
• C Sean Monahan – 7-13-20 in 31 career GP, including points in four of his last six appearances against the Jets (3-1-4).
• LW James van Riemsdyk – 7-15-22 in 35 career GP, including an assist in the first meeting of the season series on Nov. 1.
• D Zach Werenski – 2-7-9 in 11 career GP, including points in six of his past seven overall (1-5-6) as well as four of his five career games at Winnipeg (1-4-5).

BLUE JACKETS TEAM NOTES

• Columbus have lost the last three games in regulation; 3-0 at Calgary on Tuesday, 6-3 at Edmonton on Thursday and 5-2 at Vancouver on Friday.   CBJ had entered the Calgary contest with points in six-straight games (5-0-1).   It was the club’s longest points streak since Jan. 18-29, 2021 (4-0-3 in 7 GP).
• The Jackets have earned points in seven of their last 11 games (6-4-1, 13 points), ranking fourth in the NHL in wins (tied), points (tied) and goals per game (3.82, 42 goals) and sixth in shots per game (30.2) since Nov. 15.
• Columbus concludes a five game in eight-day road trip on Sunday at Winnipeg.  The team will then return home for a three-game homestand from Dec. 10-14 (Philadelphia, Washington, Anaheim).
• Columbus has recorded six or more goals in seven of its first 26 games this season.  It’s tied for the second-most games among all teams (Florida & Washington), trailing only Winnipeg (8).  It’s the fifth time in franchise history that CBJ have scored at least six goals in seven or more contests in a campaign.  The club set a franchise mark with 11 games of six or more goals in 2018-19.
• The club’s 88 goals (not including SO goals) are the second-most through the first 26 games of a season in franchise history, trailing the 90 recorded in the first 26 contests of the 2018-19 campaign.
• Columbus’ 3.38 goals-for/game in 2024-25 is the eighth-highest in the NHL.  The club averaged a franchise-best 3.15 goals-per-game during the 2021-22 season.
• CBJ have scored a goal in all three periods in regulation in six of the last eight games, including tying a franchise record with goals in 16-straight regulation periods from Nov. 18-Dec. 1 (Feb. 2-13, 2021).  The Jackets have scored in 54-of-78 periods in regulation this season and have registered 25 multi-goal frames after notching both of their goals at Vancouver on Friday in the first period.
• Columbus’ 65 goals scored at 5-on-5 play are the third-most in the NHL this season, trailing only Washington (72) and Vegas (70).
• The Jackets, who have scored the first goal of the game in nine of the last 14 contests, have scored first in 16 (9-5-2) of the first 26 games this season.
• CBJ rank second in the NHL in shots/game since Nov. 5, averaging 32.5 shots in the last 15 games.  The club ranks third-T in the league in shots on goal for the season, averaging 31.0 shots a game.
• The team closes out a stretch of six-straight against the Western Conference at Winnipeg on Sunday.  The Jackets will then play 11 of its next 12 games against the Eastern Conference from Dec. 10-Jan. 2 with the lone contest against the West hosting Anaheim on Dec. 14.
• Columbus plays its third (1-1-0) of eight Sunday games when it visits Winnipeg.  All eight contests are played away from Nationwide Arena.

BLUE JACKETS PLAYER NOTES

• CBJ leads the league in goals by defensemen and rank second in goal percentage, fourth in points percentage and fifth in points with 19-47-66, 21.6 pct. of the club’s goals and 28.2 pct. of the team’s points in 26 contests.
• C Adam Fantilli has recorded 2-2-4 in his last six outings and 2-3-5 in the past nine games.
• F Kent Johnson recorded points in his first nine contests (6-6-12), becoming the second player in franchise history to record a point in each of his first nine contests to start a campaign (Ryan Johansen, 10 GP in 2014-15).
• RW Kirill Marchenko collected an assist on Friday and has recorded 4-5-9 in the last eight games.  The forward leads the club in goals and multi-point efforts and ranks second in assists and points with 10-15-25 and eight multi-point outings in 26 contests.  He is already four assists shy of tying his single-season career high (19, 2023-24).
• C Sean Monahan has picked up 2-9-11 with four multi-point efforts in his last 11 games.  The forward ranks second-T on the club in goals and multi-point outings and third in assists (tied) and points with 8-14-22 and seven multi-point outings in 26 contests.
• RW Mathieu Olivier, who notched a goal at Vancouver on Friday, ranks fourth in the NHL in penalty minutes, 11th-T in hits and 12th-T in GWG and has already set a single-season career high in goals with 8-3-11, 47 PIM, three GWG and 84 hits in 26 contests.
• D Damon Severson has recorded goals in two-straight games and has collected 2-5-7 in the last eight contests dating back to Nov. 21.  He ranks sixth-T among NHL defensemen in goals and second among club blueliners in goals, assists and points with 6-9-15 in 26 contests.
• C Cole Sillinger collected assists in both games of the back-to-back set at Edmonton and Vancouver (1-2-3).  He has recorded points in seven of his last 10 contests since Nov. 15 (2-8-10).   A season after setting a single-season career high in assists (19), he ranks second-T on the club in assists with 4-14-18 in his first 25 outings.
• F Dmitri Voronkov had his career-best six-game points streak (4-4-8) snapped on Tuesday.  He has notched points in seven of the last 11 games (5-5-10, three multi-point efforts).
• D Zach Werenski has recorded assists in nine of the last 11 games (5-12-17) and 10 of the past 13 (5-13-18).  The stretch includes setting club records for longest assist and point streaks by a defenseman and tying the franchise mark for all skaters for longest assist streak (RJ Umberger, 2-8-10 from Nov. 10-26, 2010) from Nov. 15-Dec. 1.  The 27-year-old Grosse Pointe, Michigan native, who was named to Team USA for the 4 Nations Face-Off on Dec. 4, leads the NHL in TOI/GP as well as leads league blueliners in goals (tied) and shots on goal (tied) and ranks third in points and sixth-T in assists with 8-19-27 and 93 shots on 26:09 of ice time in 26 contests this season.

BLUE JACKETS MILESTONES

• LW Zach Aston-Reese is 11 points from 100 for his NHL career (46-43-89, 335 GP).
• RW Kevin Labanc is one game from 500 for his NHL career (84-152-236, 499 GP).
• RW Kirill Marchenko is nine points from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (54-37-91, 163 GP).
• C Sean Monahan is 10 games from 800 for his NHL career (252-308-560, 790 GP).
• RW Mathieu Olivier is six games from 200 for his NHL career (21-24-45, 194 GP).
• C Cole Sillinger is five games from 250 and eight points from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (36-56-92, 245 GP).
• F Dmitri Voronkov is eight games from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (24-21-45, 92 GP).
• C Sean Monahan is 10 games from 800 for his NHL career (252-308-560, 790 GP).
• D Zach Werenski is two goals from 100 for his CBJ/NHL career (98-231-329, 512 GP).

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT

• F Boone Jenner (shoulder) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 7; (26 Games)
• D Erik Gudbranson (upper body) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 16; (23 Games)
• C Yegor Chinakhov (upper body); (5 Games)

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 99

COURTESY BLUE JACKETS COMMUNICATIONS