WPG 2, CBJ 1: Blue Jackets’ Skid Hits Six As Connor Powers Jets In Win

By Will Chase on April 4, 2026 at 9:54 pm
Apr 4, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Winnipeg Jets left wing Kyle Connor (81) celebrates his goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the second period at Nationwide Arena.
© Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images
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Playoff aspirations are on life support.

  1 2 3 F
WPG 0 1 1 2
CBJ 1 0 0 1

CBJ GOALS: 
Ivan Provorov (1st, 1:17)

Kyle Connor scored twice as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on Saturday night at Nationwide Arena.

The Blue Jackets have lost six straight.

Connor Hellebuyck made 15 saves, only getting beaten by Ivan Provorov in the first period. Mark Scheifele had two assists.

Jet Greaves made 23 saves.

Both teams came into this one desperate for points. The Jackets, 1-4-1 in their last six games coming in, entered the day tied for the second Eastern Conference wild card spot. The Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators both lost their games earlier in the day.

The Jets came in just three points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Head coach Rick Bowness has been desperate trying to find a combination that will work for his Blue Jackets, as the offense has been hard to come by in recent action, with just 12 goals in its last six games entering action.

In Saturday's matchup, all it took was one shot and one goal for Provorov and the Blue Jackets as they started fast to get the 1-0 lead over the Jets 1:17 into the game. The Blue Jackets and Jets went 12:10 without a first-period stoppage.

However, it was much the same for the Jackets in their inability to uncover much offensively.

In the second period, Columbus was outshot 9-3 and didn't even record a shot on goal until nearly four minutes left in the frame.

The Jets' offense was spearheaded by No. 81, as Connor's 35th and 36th were all the Jets needed to improve their own playoff chances. His first goal for Winnipeg came with just over two minutes left in the first period. His second game was the difference at 10:58 of the third period.

Bowness mixed up his lines for the third period, trying to generate any formula for offense.

The Jackets, though, failed to capitalize on or generate anything after the first period. Another loss has dropped the Blue Jackets behind the Flyers in the wild-card chase. The Washington Capitals are now just one point behind Columbus after they beat the Buffalo Sabres in their game.

Kent Johnson was a healthy scratch for Columbus. The Blue Jackets held a 24-minute closed-door meeting following the game before media availability.

"I'll keep our conversation in here," Zach Werenski said. "We're a better team than what we've shown and just talked about it.

"All our issues right now are related to just terrible puck management," Bowness said. "Terrible. Making very poor percentage plays. We create the second-most chances on the forecheck in the entire league. Yet, we want to get inside the blue line and make cute little plays against good teams that aren't working. And they're not working.

"They gotta change their mindset. We're a north, hard-skating, pressure team. You turn the puck over as much as we did; you're on your heels the entire time. Both goals, we had control of the puck, and we just turned it over and gave it to them. That's what's frustrating for me.

"So, we're not going to sit here and talk about effort. We're not going to sit here and talk about execution with the puck. We had a three-on-one, and we didn't score. The opportunities to put the puck on the net is there; they don't even show up in shots on net, but you gotta bury those when you get the opportunity."

Here's how the Blue Jackets' season continues to spiral out of control:

1st Period:

(1:17 — CBJ Goal): Provorov started the game on the right foot for the Blue Jackets with his ninth goal. Mason Marchment returned to the lineup and got his 23rd assist. He was able to win possession of the puck and wait for the right moment to get the puck to Provorov for the goal.

(18:14 — WPG Goal): The Jets got the tying goal from Connor, his 35th. Scheifele (59) and Neal Pionk (8) got the assists.

(10:58 — CAR Goal): Connor's second goal (36) was the difference for the Jets. Scheifele (60) picked up his second assist of the game. The Jets improved to 11-5-4 since the Olympic break.

WPG GAME STATS CBJ
25 SHOTS 16
59 SHOT ATTEMPTS 50
33 SCORING CHANCES 25
10 HIGH-DANGER CHANCES 10
27.3% FACEOFF PERCENTAGE 72.7%
0/1 POWER PLAY 0/1
1/1 PENALTY KILL 1/1
28 HITS 16
17 GIVEAWAYS 11
3 TAKEAWAYS 3
12 BLOCKED SHOTS 16

Stat Chat:

  • Adam Fantilli and Boone Jenner co-led the Blue Jackets with three shots on goal apiece. Charlie Coyle was the only other Blue Jacket to have at least two shots on goal. The Blue Jackets have not topped 26 shots on goal in their last eight games.
     
  • The recent call-up, Zach Aston-Reese, led the game with seven hits.
     
  • Werenski has one assist in his last six games.

Up Next:

With five games remaining, the Blue Jackets face a critical matchup as they battle the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. Puck drop against the Red Wings is slated for 7 p.m. 

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