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The Winnipeg Jets are seeking consistency as they kick off a five-game road trip with a visit to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.
The Jets have alternated wins and losses over their past six games, going 3-3-0 in that stretch. They’ve scored a total of five goals in those three losses while allowing 13. In the wins, they’ve outscored their opponents 12-0.
Most recently, they’re coming off a 6-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. It’s their latest victory against a team removed from a playoff position. Three of their past four setbacks, however, have come against teams in a playoff position.
“Those are the teams that we want to put our benchmark against,” Winnipeg defenseman Brenden Dillon said. “For instance, the fact that we’re 0-3 against Dallas, that (angers us) and it’s something that we’ve talked about now. … Those are going to be games where we do need to understand there’s a sense or urgency in those games. We’ve put ourselves in a good enough spot where we want to make the playoffs and we feel strongly that we’re going to make the playoffs. But we need to prove to ourselves that we can play with the best.”
Tyler Toffoli scored his first two goals on Friday while playing in his third game since being acquired by the Jets from the New Jersey Devils prior to the NHL trade deadline.
“(General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff) made a great trade there,” coach Rick Bowness said. “He’s a goal scorer and if you get the puck to him in the right spots, he’s going to put it on the net and it’s going to go in the net.”
The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, look to build off a 4-2 win against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, just their second victory in the past six games. Columbus came away with the win despite being outshot 41-20. In their recent losses, the Blue Jackets feel they’ve played well enough to win but haven’t gotten the results.
In a trying season, there has been a bright spot of late — namely the contributions of forward Alex Nylander, whom the Blue Jackets acquired via trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 22.
Nylander collected two goals and an assist against San Jose, giving him 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in 11 games with Columbus. He’s just two goals shy of matching his NHL career high of 10, a mark he reached in 65 games in 2019-20, then with the Chicago Blackhawks.
“I’ve been working for this the past two years,” said Nylander, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. “I just stick to my plan. I know that if I get a chance, I’ve just got to take it. I know I could play in this league. It’s been a really big opportunity and I’m really happy that they took a chance on me, and it’s been going great, so we’ve just got to keep it going.”
The Jets defeated the Blue Jackets 5-0 in their previous meeting back on Jan. 9.
–Field Level Media
