Jets 4, Blue Jackets 0
Michael Hutchinson made 29 saves for his second career shutout as host Winnipeg scored on its first two shots to breeze into the All-Star break on a season-high five-game winning streak.
Blake Wheeler and Evander Kane tallied in the first period while Jim Slater and Chris Thorburn scored in the second for the Jets, who improved to 6-0-1 in their last seven games and have won five in a row for the first time since April 6-18, 2013. Hutchinson made a brilliant left-pad save to deny Brandon Dubinsky from the doorstep in the third to preserve his second shutout this season and improve to 14-4-2.
Columbus All-Star Sergei Bobrovsky yielded three goals on 12 shots before exiting with an undisclosed injury in the second period. Curtis McElhinney finished with 16 saves in relief for the Blue Jackets, who snapped their two-game winning streak and suffered their first road loss in five outings against the Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise.
The Jets got the early jump on Columbus to set the tone for the contest. While falling to the ice, Wheeler sent a backhander from the slot past Bobrovsky at 1:08 to open the scoring and Kane accepted a drop pass from Mark Scheifele and wristed a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that trickled between the pads of the netminder less than five minutes later.
Winnipeg kept up the intensity in the second, with Slater deflecting defenseman Jay Harrison's shot from the point past Bobrovsky at 4:45 to give his team a 3-0 advantage. The Jets didn't let up after the 2013 Vezina Trophy winner departed, with Thorburn cleaning up the rebound of Adam Lowry's shot at 14:10 of the session.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Bobrovsky suffered his injury while extending his left pad in an attempt to make a save 7:44 into the second period. He remained on the ice and needed assistance to return to the locker room. ... Winnipeg D Jacob Trouba notched an assist in his return to the lineup following a 16-game absence due to an upper-body injury. To make room on the roster, the Jets placed LW Mathieu Perreault (upper body) on injured reserve. ... Winnipeg captain Andrew Ladd also set up a goal to extend his point streak to three games.