Columbus won the faceoff circle by a historic margin and lost the game because dominance in the dot means nothing when your forwards can't manufacture 17 shots against a team giving the puck away 17 times.
Winnipeg erased a first-period deficit by grinding Columbus into submission on shot volume and physical presence, then let their top line execute when the game was there to be won. This WPG 2β1 regulation win at Nationwide Arena was decided by territorial dominance and a single player delivering both goals.
β‘TURNING POINT
Connor's equalizer at 18:14 of the second β with barely 46 seconds remaining in the period β arrived at maximum leverage, preventing Columbus from carrying a one-goal lead into the final frame with momentum intact. Erasing that cushion at the worst possible moment for CBJ collapsed the defensive structure they had built across 58 minutes of play.
πWHY WPG WON
β’
Shot dominance (26β16) created sustained offensive zone time that CBJ's structure could not absorb across three periods.
β’
Connor produced both goals on just 2 shots, converting the two moments that mattered most; Scheifele's playmaking directly enabled both.
β’
Physical engagement β 28 hits, 12 blocked shots β wore Columbus down and limited them to 16 shots, their own territory progressively shrinking.
πWHY CBJ LOST
β’
A 72.7% faceoff rate (24 of 33) produced no second-period or third-period offense, meaning puck possession never translated into sustained pressure.
β’
Columbus generated only 16 shots total β when volume collapses that far, one Connor performance decides everything.
β’
Greaves conceded 0.60 goals below league average on 26 shots β matching Hellebuyck's margin β so goaltending was not the differentiator; the forwards' inability to generate chances was.
Three Stars
Kyle Connor1st
WPG, L
2G 0A2 points+221:27 TOI
Both goals came at critical junctures and represented the entirety of WPG's winning margin.
Mark Scheifele2nd
WPG, C
0G 2A2 points+222:39 TOI
Assisted both Connor goals, meaning every Winnipeg tally ran directly through his playmaking.
Jet Greaves3rd
CBJ, G
24 savesSV% 0.92358:33 TOI
Conceded 0.60 goals below league average on 26 shots β kept Columbus in a game their skaters did not earn.
