Winnipeg shows Columbus what a playoff team looks like
There are some challenges for the Blue Jackets this season when all it takes to understand what they're up against is a glance across the ice.
One of them arrived Sunday at Nationwide Arena, where the Winnipeg Jets routed the Blue Jackets 6-1 in a St. Patrick's Day domination. The Jets are bigger, stronger, older, have a decided edge in goaltending with Connor Hellebuyck and were a terrible matchup for the upstart Blue Jackets in the two-game season series — sweeping both games by an 11-1 margin.
"I think Winnipeg makes other teams look bad in so many ways," Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said. "They're heavy. They're strong. They have skills. And then you face Hellebuyck on top of that.
"So, I think we faced a pretty good hockey team, but as far as we are concerned ... the few things that we need to do in order to be successful are we need to compete and skate. And if we just take a deep breath against a team like Winnipeg, you're going to see (what you saw)."
How did the Blue Jackets plan to stay competitive?
“I don't want to be sarcastic here, but I can't feed our guys in 24 hours so that they gain 20 pounds, right?” Vincent said. “It's a great question, because ... the best answer will be in two or three years or next year, in the future." For today, our best chance (was) to compete as hard as we can. That's the only way we can do it.”
It worked in the first period, but the Jets broke the game open with a fourgoal second.
Brendan Gaunce scored to give Blue Jackets fans something to cheer 39 seconds into the third, cutting it to 5-1, but the Jets re-established control to finish it off. Hellebuyck made 30 saves to earn the goaltending win for Winnipeg, while Elvis Merzlikins allowed six goals on 27 shots for the Blue Jackets.
The Jets are a team Vincent envisions the Blue Jackets becoming down the road, but Columbus isn't in the same weight class as Winnipeg.
“They are really good (getting open),” Merzlikins said. “This is why they are a playoff team. They find those empty pockets, and when they get the chance, they just punish you.”
Blue Jackets at Red Wings When: 7 p.m. Tuesday TV: Bally Sports Ohio Radio: 105.7FM