PREVIEW: The Blue Jackets face the challenge against the red-hot Jets

The Blue Jackets are off to a strong start, but their biggest challenge of the season lies ahead on Friday night.

Columbus welcomes a Winnipeg team to Nationwide Arena that leads in scoring and is outscoring its opponents by an average of more than two goals per game (4.60-2.40).

There's no one hotter in the NHL, so the Blue Jackets will have to come into their own in the opening game. The good news they have in general is that head coach Dean Evason has preached the mentality of being ready to play no matter when, where or who the Jackets are playing.

The result was a team that generally played right through the first nine games of the season and picked up points in four straight games (3-0-1).

“Remember, at the beginning of the year we talked about, we were playing a winning brand of hockey and we weren't getting a few wins here and there,” Evason said after Wednesday night's shutout win over the Islanders. “You’re not going to win every hockey game, but you just keep playing and winning hockey in different ways and you get rewarded for it.”

So far, the rewards have come in the form of candy from trick-or-treaters. Columbus finished the month with a .611 points percentage, marking the fourth-best October in franchise history. The Blue Jackets also won three straight games at Nationwide Arena for the first time in nearly two years (November 10-17, 2022).

And last night's win showed that the team is capable of responding to a different kind of challenge. The Blue Jackets scored six goals in each of the first four wins, but the team had to adapt to the Islanders' defensive style last night and did just that, sticking to its game plan through two scoreless opening periods and then scoring the game-winning two goals in the third .

“You have to win any way you can,” said defenseman Damon Severson, who scored the winning goal in the third period. “Of course the fans really love the six goals on the board and the cannon shots, but that doesn't matter. As long as we win, whether 1-0, 2-0 like tonight or 6-1, it doesn't really matter. The main thing is that after the game it’s about winning.”

Know the Enemy: Winnipeg Jets

Head Coach: Scott Arniel (First Season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 4.60 (1st) | Point defense: 2.40 (4th) | PP: 44.8 percent (1st) | PK: 81.0 percent (15th)

The narrative: Former Blue Jackets head coach Scott Arniel finally has another chance to take the big seat, and he couldn't have imagined a better start. Winnipeg has won its first eight games and is now 9-1-0, with four of the wins coming by at least three goals. It's a similar start to last year, when the Jets won 27 of their first 40 games to move to the top of the NHL standings, but the season ended in disappointment as the Jets lost in the first round of the playoffs for the second time a row.

Team leader: As one of the NHL's top scorers – having scored at least 30 goals in each of the last six full seasons – Kyle Connor is once again the league leader with nine goals, third in the league. He also ranks fifth in the NHL with a total of 17 points. Four other Jets have reached double-digit points so far: Mark Scheifele (6-7-13), Neal Pionk (3-9-12), Nikolaj Ehlers (4-7-11) and Josh Morrissey (1-10-11). ).

In net, one of the league's best is off to another hot start as two-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck is 7-1-0 with a 2.12 GAA and .923 save percentage. However, the Blue Jackets will face backup Eric Comrie, who has won both starts with a 3.00 GAA and a .915 save percentage.

What's new: The Jets made few additions to the roster in the offseason, sticking with a core that has appeared in the playoffs six times in the last seven years and won 52 games a season ago. There were some losses, however, as current CBJ forwards Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli left the team in free agency, while defensemen Nate Schmidt were bought out and Brendan Dillon was also signed elsewhere. The biggest change came behind the bench when Rick Bowness retired after a long career and was replaced by Arniel, who led the Blue Jackets to a 45-60-18 record in a season and a half from 2010 to 2012.

Trending: Winnipeg won both games in the series a season ago by a combined score of 11-1, including a 6-1 victory on St. Patrick's Day at Nationwide Arena. These two Jets wins ended a five-game point streak (4-0-1) for the Blue Jackets in the series.

Former CBJ: None