Nikolaj Ehlers scored three goals for his fifth career hat trick and the Winnipeg Jets stayed perfect on the road with a 6-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night.

Mason Appleton and Gabriel Vilardi also scored, Josh Morrissey had a strong goal and assist and Ehlers added an assist for Winnipeg, which won 10 of its first 11 games. Eric Comrie made 20 saves for the Jets, who improved to 6-0-0 on the road for the best start in team history.

Sean Kuraly scored and Sean Monahan had a strong goal for the Blue Jackets. Elvis Merzlikins made 37 saves.

takeaway

Jets: Scott Arniel returned to Nationwide Arena as head coach for the first time since he was fired by the Blue Jackets in January 2012. His Jets showed Columbus how it’s done, dominating from the opening puck drop and showing why they’re atop the NHL standings. .

Blue Jackets: Columbus was unable to answer the faster, more agile Jets and spent most of the game defending their own zone with limited success, dominating in every period and ending up with a 21-shot deficit.

key moment

Columbus seized the momentum when Monahan scored with seven seconds remaining on the power play with 3:30 left in the second period, cutting the Jets’ lead to 3-2. Ehlers scored his third goal of the night 2:20 later and Winnipeg never looked back.

Key statistics

Winnipeg kept its power play streak alive by scoring on the man advantage in each of the last four games. The Jets are in the league’s top 14 with 31 points this season.

Next

The Jets host Tampa Bay on Sunday and the Blue Jackets visit Washington on Saturday.