National Hockey League
Winnipeg 5, Columbus 4
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, April 6, 2017
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Referees: Eric Furlatt, Frederic L'Ecuyer
Linesmen: Steve Miller, Mark Wheler
Attendance: 16447

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Winnipeg Jets looked more like a team going to the playoffs than the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena.

The Jets are surging since being eliminated from the postseason, winning their sixth straight game with a 5-4 victory over the Blue Jackets. The streak is the longest since the franchise relocated from Atlanta in 2011.

Jacob Trouba scored two power-play goals, Bryan Little had one goal and three assists, and Mathieu Perreault added a goal and two assists for the Jets (39-35-7). Mark Scheifele also scored a goal for Winnipeg.

Goaltender Eric Comrie, who was called up from the American Hockey League, won his NHL debut with the Jets. He finished with 35 saves.

"He made some great saves and the timing of them, too," Little said. "When the game was close, he made the big save and shut the door. He looked pretty impressive out there for his first game."

On the flip side, the Blue Jackets (49-23-8) find themselves in a funk for the first time all season heading into the playoffs next week. They lost their season-high fifth consecutive game and any chance to gain home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs next week against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

But there were some positives for the Blue Jackets. After scoring only 12 goals in the previous eight games, Columbus showed signs of recharging their attack.

Brandon Saad scored two second-period goals, Nick Foligno and Boone Jenner had one each, and Oliver Bjorkstrand contributed two assists.

"Right now, we're on a bit of a skid here, but we know what we need to do going into the playoffs," Saad said. "Tonight we scored goals, but we gave up too many."

Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella is trying not to let panic set in, choosing to look at the positives going into the final two games of the regular season on the road.

"No time to get down," he said. "We've just got to keep on banging away and get some results in the next couple of games and then get on with the big stuff."

While the offense started to show signs of life, some uncharacteristic defensive mistakes were the Blue Jackets' undoing.

"Those little lapses in our game that we really haven't had too much of cost us tonight," Foligno said. "Tonight our offense came alive and our defense struggled a little bit. But now I think we're going to find that happy medium."

Trouba and Little gave the Jets a 5-3 lead with third-period goals after the Blue Jackets rallied in the second period to tie the score.

Trouba's shot from the blue line found its way past Columbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo for the go-ahead goal on a power play at 4:06. Little padded the lead at 9:35 when he dragged the puck past Korpisalo and got him out of position.

"It was just one of those games where a lot of the chances were going in for us," Little said.

Jenner's goal at 14:00 of the third period closed the gap to 5-4, but Comrie and Winnipeg held on from there. The newbie goalie was impressive, making big saves early and late when the Blue Jackets put pressure on him with rushes to the net.

"Very pleased for him," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "He deserved to win."

The Blue Jackets battled back after falling behind 3-1 early in the second period when Perreault scored his 13th goal of the season for the Jets.

Saad pulled Columbus within 3-2 with his first goal of the game at 7:12 of the second and then knotted the score at 3 when he snuck a rebound past Comrie after an initial shot from the point by Alexander Wennberg at 12:35.

The Blue Jackets came out aggressively in an attempt to jump-start their attack and dominated the first half of the opening period. Foligno gave Columbus a 1-0 lead at 6:58 when he stole the puck in the defensive zone, skated up the left side of the ice, made a move on Josh Morrissey and fired a wrist shot past Comrie.

"Not the start we wanted," Trouba said. "We seemed to find a way to bounce back. When they pushed back, we'd have another push. So it was good responses."

The Jets took advantage of a four-minute double minor for high sticking on Columbus' Scott Harrington to tie the score at 1. With 20 seconds left in the penalty, Trouba took a cross-ice pass from Little and beat Korpisalo at 13:54.

Little's goal seemed to energize the Jets. Just 1:31 later, Winnipeg went in front when Scheifele took Blake Wheeler's centering pass from behind the net and deposited the puck in the net to make it 2-1. The goal was Scheifele's 32nd of the season and his team-leading 81st point.

"The power play changed things for us," Maurice said. "After our first power-play goal, we were a better team."

NOTES: Jets D Tyler Myers hopes to return for the season finale on Saturday against the Nashville Predators. He has been sidelined since Nov. 11 with a lower-body injury. He worked out with the team on Wednesday. ... The Jets did not have a penalty and scored on their two power-play chances. ... Blue Jackets D Zach Werenski and F Lukas Sedlak remained out with upper-body injuries. ... Columbus native Jack Roslovic made his NHL debut for the Jets. ... Jets C Mark Scheifele has a point in 18 of his last 23 games.
Top Game Performances
 
Winnipeg   Columbus
Bryan Little 4 Points Brandon Saad 2
Jacob Trouba 2 Goals Brandon Saad 2
Bryan Little 3 Assists Oliver Bjorkstrand 2
Jacob Trouba 2 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Eric Comrie .897 Save Percentage Joonas Korpisalo .844
Eric Comrie 35 Saves Joonas Korpisalo 27
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Winnipeg 32 5 2-3 0-0 0 27
Columbus 39 4 0-0 1-3 6 28
Upcoming Games
  • Columbus will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .633 after a loss.
  • Winnipeg will play their next game at home against Nashville. The Jets have a W/L % of .526 after a win and .442 after a loss.