Blue Jackets breakdown: Korpisalo, Laine net impressive win over Winnipeg Jets

The Blue Jackets’ top line had quite a night in Patrik Laine’s return to the lineup and Joonas Korpisalo was nearly impenetrable in the Columbus net.

Korpisalo picked up a win in a 37-save masterpiece, Laine scored twice, Johnny Gaudreau led all scorers with three points on three assists and Boone Jenner added his 300^th career point with an assist in the Jackets' 4-1 victory Friday at the Winnipeg Jets (14-7-1).

"As a line and as a team, I felt like we played a pretty good 60 (minutes), even though they had some good pushes every now and then," Laine said. "Korpi was unreal tonight."

Laine, who returned after missing nearly three weeks with an ankle sprain, scored the first two goals of his career against his former team. The Jets traded him to the Blue Jackets along with Jack Roslovic in January 2021 for Pierre-Luc Dubois, who scored Winnipeg's lone goal late in the third on a 6-on-4 power-play late to spoil Korpisalo's shutout bid.

Erik Gudranson and Gustav Nyquist scored the other two goals for the Blue Jackets (8-12-2), who netted two in the first and two more n the second against Jets goalie David Rittich (22 saves).

Here’s a breakdown:

Columbus Blue Jackets at Winnipeg Jets key moments

— Laine and Gudbranson gave the Blue Jackets a 2-0 lead in the first on goals 3:56 apart. Laine’s first opened the scoring at 6:48 on a great cross-ice feed from Gaudreau. Gudbranson made it 2-0 at 10:42 for his first goal as a Blue Jacket, putting a shot on net that snuck past Rittich after it hit the goalie's right pad and then Dubois' skate in front of the crease.

— Laine and Nyquist put the Blue Jackets up 4-0 with goals in the second. Laine’s second of the game and fourth of the season made it 3-0 at 3:19, scored after two nice passes by Gaudreau and Jenner. Nyquist was also the recipient of good passing plays by Roslovic and Gaudreau, whose cross-crease feed for the primary helper was his third assist of the game.

— Korpisalo's night became significantly more difficult approaching the midpoint in the second. The Blue Jackets’ backstop made six of 14 saves in the period in the final 10 minutes, including three within a seven-second span against Saku Maenalanen and Morgan Barron — whose shot off Maenalanen’s rebound was denied by Korpisalo’s outstretched right arm with 4:01 left to keep it 4-0 Columbus. Earlier in the period, Korpisalo kept the Jets from scoring despite Winnipeg pinning the Blue Jackets into their own end for a leg-burning cycle that lasted three minutes.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Winnipeg Jets notes

— Jenner’s assist on Laine’s second goal was the 300^th point of his NHL career, which he’s spent entirely with the Blue Jackets over 10 seasons. Jenner, who leads the Blue Jackets with nine goals, ranks fifth on the team’s all-time scoring list at 300 points. He’s also third on the franchise's career list in games played at 611 — trailing only Cam Atkinson (627) and Rick Nash (674).

— Gudbranson’s goal was the 28^th of his career, first since signing with the Blue Jackets in July and his 100^th career NHL point. The veteran defenseman has played noticeably better since his ice time increased due to the Blue Jackets’ glut of injuries that claimed four defensemen.

— The Blue Jackets sent out medical updates Friday on three players out long-term. Forward Jakub Voracek has a concussion that hasn’t cleared up and is out indefinitely. Defensemen Zach Werenski and Jake Bean both had surgeries to repair a torn shoulder labrum. Bean is expected to miss four-to-six months and Werenski is expected to be sidelined a full six months.

— Voracek’s concussion is concerning because of previous concussions in his 15-year career, including a 10-year stint with the Philadelphia Flyers and a previous three-year stretch with the Blue Jackets — who selected him seventh overall in 2007. Voracek will meet with reporters Monday at Nationwide Arena to discuss his situation.

— Mathieu Olivier (illness) missed his second straight game. Rookie Liam Foudy and Carson Meyer filled the void again, skating on the third and fourth lines. Foudy played on the fourth line with Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov. Meyer stayed in Oliver's spot on the their line with Sean Kuraly and Eric Robinson.

Quotable: Columbus Blue Jackets at Winnipeg Jets

“Now Columbus is the only team in the league I haven’t scored against, so hopefully it stays like that until my career’s done.”

— Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine on scoring the first two goals of his career against the Jets, his first NHL team.

“We built a lead. That’s huge. It’s a lot easier when you’re playing from the front instead of behind and chasing the game.”

— Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen 

“We had good jump from the start and we played good defense, like we’ve been doing for a while now, and just put it all together. We’ve had chances in the other games (last week) and just haven’t been able to finish. Today we were able to do that and that makes a difference playing with a bigger lead.”

— Blue Jackets forward Gustav Nyquist

“I thought the boys played one of their best games this season. That was a good team we played against and I think we controlled the game for the full 60 minutes. So, the guys helped me out a lot today.”

— Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo, who was excellent while making a number of high-difficulty stops among his 37 saves.

Up next for the Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets have a chance to get even with the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday for a humbling 6-1 loss Nov. 19 at Nationwide Arena in the opener of the season series.

bhedger@dispatch.com

@BrianHedger

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Korpisalo, top line push Blue Jackets to win over Winnipeg Jets