Blue Jackets put win streak on line vs. Blackhawks
The Columbus Blue Jackets will be riding a six-game winning streak when they host the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night in the final game before the Olympic break for both teams.
The Blue Jackets, who also have won 10 of their last 11 games, will be playing the second of back-to-back contests. They defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-0 on Tuesday in Newark, N.J.
Columbus has outscored opponents 26-13 during its winning streak.
"We're just hunting teams," said defenseman Dante Fabbro, who scored Tuesday night. "We're not sitting back on our heels. We're playing on our toes all game and I think you saw it tonight. I think we just stuck to the game plan longer than they did, and it obviously paid off."
Elvis Merzlikins made 24 saves in recording his 12th career shutout and first of the season.
"We are putting the pressure a lot more on the opponents and we're cleaning up more in front of the net," Merzlikins said. "Me and (fellow goaltender Jet Greaves) are seeing more pucks and I think it makes our life easier."
Mathieu Olivier scored twice for Columbus on Tuesday.
"We just stuck to our plan," Olivier said. "They didn't give us much in the first two periods, and not that we were playing bad at all, but they just were on top of us. It was a really good defensive game on both sides. We just felt comfortable playing that kind of game and it ended up paying off for us."
The Blackhawks snapped a five-game losing streak (0-3-2) on Monday night with a 6-3 home win over the San Jose Sharks.
One of the losses was to the visiting Blue Jackets, 4-2, on Friday.
Ryan Donato led the way on Monday with two goals and two assists for Chicago.
The Blackhawks had only managed nine goals in the five losses.
"Nice to be able to score, and the other thing it does is, when guys score, they feel better about themselves," Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said. "It gives guys confidence, and confidence matters a ton in every league, but certainly this league. So hopefully we can carry that forward a little bit.
"We haven't won enough lately and just to be able to score. Listen, as a coach you'd love to win 3-1 and all that stuff, but to score six matters. Guys feel better about themselves when that happens, and I know how important confidence is. So it was a good thing for our guys."
Ilya Mikheyev had a goal and three assists and defenseman Connor Murphy had one of each. Connor Bedard and defenseman Sam Rinzel also scored.
"It's great," Donato said. "We had a lot of guys get on the score sheet tonight, and that's what we work toward every game. It's fun to play that way and definitely great to get the win."
Bedard's goal came on the power play and was the 21st power-play marker of his career. That's the most in team history for a player before turning 21, surpassing Patrick Kane.