PREVIEW: Blue Jackets look to snap skid in Winnipeg

BLUE JACKETS (28-18-3) at JETS (32-16-2)Thursday, 8 p.m., Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg (FOX Sports Ohio, CBJ app, FOX Sports app, 97.1 The Fan)
Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella wasn't in a sugar-coating mood on Wednesday, and even if he was, there wouldn't be much good to say anyway about Columbus' showing in
Tuesday's 5-4 loss to Buffalo
at Nationwide Arena.
In their first game since the winter and All-Star breaks, the Blue Jackets gave up far too many scoring chances and looked lethargic in falling to the Sabres in a game that was not as close as the score would indicate.
The result was the Blue Jackets' first three-game losing streak of the season, and it doesn't get much easier as now the team must travel to take on first-place Winnipeg on Thursday night in frigid Manitoba.

"Everything has to improve," Tortorella said. "Our readiness -- I haven't seen this team play as bad as we did. Everything needs to improve. I don't want to hear it was because of the break. You can't be as sloppy as we were.
"I get it, there's going to be some rust, but not as bad as that was last night."

According to Natural Stat Trick, Columbus allowed 31 scoring chances in 5-on-5 play and 19 high-danger chances. To hear the Blue Jackets tell it, if it weren't for the standout play of Sergei Bobrovsky, it would have been an even more lopsided decision, as the goaltender had to make a number of difficult saves just to give the Jackets a chance to be in it.
So how do the Blue Jackets right the ship?
"You just move on," Seth Jones said. "Learn from it. It's an 82-game season. It's a long season, but we can't afford to keep playing that way. Bob literally kept us in it -- gave up five but kept us in it all game. We gave up way too many grade-A chances, way too many odd-man rushes. Our D-zone coverage wasn't great. We can't go into Winnipeg tomorrow playing like that."
Tortorella, of course, will try to see to it that that's not the case. After having practices Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, then a morning skate Tuesday before the game, the head coach chose to give the team an optional skate Wednesday before the flight to Winnipeg.
The team will have a video session breaking down the breakdowns in play on Thursday morning, then skate ahead of Thursday night's game.
"It's not going to be, 'Let them be,' this round," Tortorella said. "I think we're doing it the right way as far as giving them an option today … but we need to get back to work tomorrow. It's unacceptable what happened last night."
The last time the team got so far away from its game in a Dec. 8 home loss to Washington, the coaching staff highlighted the mistakes with a long video session and immediately saw dividends with improved defensive play.
In addition, the Blue Jackets have shown the ability to bounce back from tough situations all season, as evidenced by the fact this is the team's first three-game skid all season.
Tortorella only wants to see his team play the right way on Thursday, whether that means snapping the skid or not. After the performance against Buffalo, the players sound dedicated to making it happen.
"We're not happy," Pierre-Luc Dubois said. "It sucks losing, and it sucks losing the six points, especially in a tight race. You look at the standings, you can win two and be in first place, and you can lose two and be in the wild card. It's disappointing. It's annoying, but maybe it's a wakeup call."
Cold As Ice
Blue Jackets winger Markus Hannikainen has three winter coats -- one for normal cold, a heavier one for when it gets even chillier, a heavier heavy coat for the coldest days.
This is what growing up in Finland will get you, but Hannikainen won't be taking his best cold-weather protection to Winnipeg.
"We have to wear a suit so I can't wear my super coat," he said before the team left Wednesday. "We can't wear anything different really. It's only one day so it'll be fine."
But for those who think the polar vortex is making things cold in Ohio, get a load of Winnipeg. The high temperature Wednesday in Manitoba's capital was projected to settle at minus-20 degrees Fahrenheit, and it was minus-26 in the 'Peg when many of the Blue Jackets left the arena to head to the airport for the flight across the border.
Thursday was expected to be better, with a projected high of minus-4. Still, that's cold, though noted fashionplate Artemi Panarin -- who grew up in Korkina, Russia, where temperatures also dipped below 0 on Thursday -- showed he knows how to handle cold weather.
The weather was sure to be a shock to the system of Cam Atkinson and Seth Jones, who reported to the All-Star Game last Thursday to high temperatures in the mid-60s.
"About a hundred-degree difference, maybe," Jones said Wednesday.
When asked how one packs for such a trip, Jones laughed.
"Bring the warmest things you can find in your closet," he said. "I don't think anyone can pack for that kind of weather. We won't be outside for too long."
Know The Foe
Winnipeg leads the way in the Central Division with 66 points thanks to a 32-16-2 record. After reaching the Western Conference Finals a season ago, the Jets boast one of the league's best home records (18-6-2) and hope to make the next step this year behind a high-scoring core.
The Jets rank sixth in the league in scoring with 3.40 goals per game and convert on the power play at a 26.4-percent clip, fourth in the league. Defensively the team has been strong, too, with the sixth-best defense in the league at 2.78 goals allowed per game.
Blake Wheeler is second in the NHL with 53 assists among his 62 points, eighth in the league, while Mark Scheifele is right behind with a 25-36-61 line. Patrik Laine is also tied for the team lead with 25 goals while Kyle Connor has 21 goals and 19 assists for 40 points. Laine is in a slump, though, with just four goals since December began and just 10:55 of ice time in the team's last game.
Defenseman Dustin Byluglien has 29 points (4-25-29) in just 32 games but is day-to-day with an injury, while Jacob Trouba is plus-14 to go with his 4-20-24 line. In net, Connor Hellebuyck is 22-14-1 with a 2.85 goals-against average and .910 save percentage in 38 starts, while backup Laurent Brossoit is 10-2-1 with a 2.09 GAA and .940 save percentage.
Of Note
Columbus, which had a four-game point streak vs. the Western Conference snapped in a 2-1 loss Jan. 19 at Minnesota, play the next five straight vs. the West. ... The Jackets look to set an NHL record and remain perfect on Thursdays (12-0-0 overall; 6-0-0 on road) as they enter the game tied with Detroit (Wednesdays from Oct. 3, 2007-Mar. 19, 2008) for the longest win streak on a single day to begin a campaign. ... Jack Roslovic, a Columbus native and former Ohio AAA Blue Jacket, has posted 3-8-11 in 49 games this season for the Jets.
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
Artemi Panarin - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Cam Atkinson
Nick Foligno - Alex Wennberg - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Anthony Duclair - Riley Nash - Josh Anderson
Lukas Sedlak - Brandon Dubinsky - Markus Hannikainen
Seth Jones - Zach Werenski
Dean Kukan- Ryan Murray
Scott Harrington - David Savard
Sergei Bobrovsky (starter)
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched: Boone Jenner (injured), Mark Letestu, Markus Nutivaara
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