The Columbus Blue Jackets return to the rink after two days off with two games in two nights in two cities, against two Central Division foes.
First, the Winnipeg Jets. The battle of two former classmates from the University of Michigan will be my two players to Watch tonight— F Kyle Connor (WPG) and D Zach Werenski.
Connor and Werenski were teammates during the 2015-16 NCAAH season. Connor has since blossomed into a first liner with the Jets, and leads the team with 80 points in 65 games played.
Werenski leads Columbus, while being third in the league in average time on ice in the 2021-22 season with 26:16. He has 41 points in 58 games.
The Jets were both a buyer and seller at the deadline, departing with Nathan Beaulieu (PIT), Andrew Copp (NYR), Nathan Smith (ARI), and Bryan Little (ARI), but obtaining Zach Sanford from Ottawa; Morgan Barron from the Rangers; and reacquiring Mason Appleton, who they lost in the expansion draft to Seattle.
Adam Boqvist is back for Columbus, and Jean-Francois Berube is getting the green light. Lineups are the same other than Gabriel Carlsson sitting out, which is good to hear that Andrew Peeke is healthy.
Projected Lineups
Winnipeg Jets
Paul Stastny—Mark Scheifele—Blake Wheeler Kyle Connor—Pierre-Luc Dubois—Nikolaj Ehlers Zach Sanford—Adam Lowry—Mason Appleton Jansen Harkins—Dominic Toninato—Evgney Svechinkov
Josh Morrisey—Dylan DeMelo Brenden Dillon—Neal Pionk Logan Stanley—Nate Schmidt
Eric Comrie Connor Hellebuyck
Injured— Cole Perfetti, Dylan Samberg
Columbus Blue Jackets
Gustav Nyquist—Jack Roslovic—Patrik Laine Jakub Voracek—Cole Sillinger—Oliver Bjorkstrand Yegor Chinakov—Brendan Gaunce—Emil Bemstrom Eric Robinson—Sean Kuraly—Justin Danforth
Zach Werenski—Andrew Peeke Vladislav Gavrikov—Jake Bean Dean Kukan—Adam Boqvist
Elvis Merzlikins Jean-Francois Berube
Scratched— Gabriel Carlsson, Gavin Bayreuther
Injured— Jonas Korpisalo, Nathan Gerbe, Boone Jenner
Players to Watch— check above Michigan matchup between Connor and Werenski.
Mini Battle in Minnesota
The second night, Saturday, is a thriller against Marc-Andre Fleury and the Western Conference dark horse. Minnesota bought hard at the deadline, with Jacob Middleton, Nicolas Desalauriers, Tyson Jost, and the Flower.
The Wild are wheeling through the conference with a string of grit and lethal scoring from Russian stud Kirill Kaprizov on down.
Columbus and Minnesota came in the league around the same time, and Minnesota has shown strong success, while the Jackets are in another retool.
Projected Lineups
Minnesota Wild
Kirill Kaprizov—Ryan Hartman—Mats Zuccarello Kevin Fiala—Frederik Gaudreau—Matthew Boldy Jordan Greenway— Joel Eriksson Ek—Marcus Foligno Brandon Duhaime—Tyson Jost—Nicolas Deslauriers
Jacob Middleton—Jared Spurgeon Joonas Brodin—Matt Dumba Jon Merrill—Alex Gologski
Cam Talbot Marc-Andre Fleury
Players to Watch—
Minnesota— Matt Boldy— coming up late in the season, he has 24 points in 31 games.
Columbus— Jack Roslovic— the first line center has blossomed since the Jenner injury.
More to come…