Blue Jackets at Jets preview
Columbus eyes fourth straight win; Winnipeg is 7-2-1 past 10 games
by Wes Crosby / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
BLUE JACKETS (9-8-4) at JETS (13-9-1)
7 p.m. ET; SN360, SNW, FS-O, NHL.TV
The Game
The Columbus Blue Jackets look to extend their season-long winning streak to four games when they play the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place on Saturday.
The Blue Jackets have scored five goals in each of their past two games, a 5-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday and a 5-4 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. They also defeated the St. Louis Blues 3-2 on Nov. 15 to start their win streak.
Elvis Merzlikins will start for Columbus, looking for his first NHL win. The 25-year-old rookie goalie is 0-1-3 with a 3.43 goals-against average and .894 save percentage in five games (four starts) this season.
The Jets will try for an eighth win in 11 games. They are 7-2-1 in their past 10 games after losing five of the previous seven (2-5-0). Winnipeg lost 5-3 at the Dallas Stars on Thursday, ending a three-game winning streak.
Players to watch
Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski has seven points (three goals, four assists) during a five-game point streak.
Jets forward Kyle Connor has five points (two goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak.
They said it
"We just need to keep playing our game. ... I feel like we need to keep going." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella
"You'd like all pieces of your game to be perfect. Then you'd win every game and that would be just right." -- Jets coach Paul Maurice
Blue Jackets projected lineup
Sonny Milano -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Emil Bemstrom
Nick Foligno -- Alexandre Texier -- Cam Atkinson
Eric Robinson -- Alexander Wennberg -- Josh Anderson
Gustav Nyquist -- Boone Jenner -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Zach Werenski -- Seth Jones
Ryan Murray -- David Savard
Vladislav Gavrikov -- Dean Kukan
Elvis Merzlikins
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched: Scott Harrington, Riley Nash
Injured: Brandon Dubinsky (wrist), Markus Nutivaara (upper body), Kole Sherwood (oblique)
Jets projected lineup
Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Patrik Laine
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Blake Wheeler -- Jack Roslovic
Andrew Copp -- Adam Lowry -- Mathieu Perreault
Joona Luoto -- David Gustafsson -- Logan Shaw
Josh Morrissey -- Tucker Poolman
Dmitry Kulikov -- Neal Pionk
Nathan Beaulieu -- Luca Sbisa
Laurent Brossoit
Connor Hellebuyck
Scratched: Anthony Bitetto, Carl Dahlstrom, Michael Spacek
Injured: Mark Letestu (upper body), Mason Appleton (lower body), Bryan Little (upper body), Gabriel Bourque (lower body)
Status report
Columbus will use the same lines and defense pairs as Thursday. ... Sbisa left the morning skate early. The Jets plan for him to play, but will dress seven defensemen for pregame warmups, Maurice said.
Stat pack
The road team is 8-3-1 in the last 12 games between the Jets and Blue Jackets. ... Dubois has five points (three goals, two assists) on a three-game point streak. ... Laine has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past four games, and has one goal in each of his past two games. ... The Jets are 9-2-0 in games played on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday this season. They are 4-0-0 in Saturday games.