The Blue Jackets woke up Friday morning on the right side of the Eastern Conference playoff line for the first time since mid-November.
The first question may be an obvious one – how did this happen?
A squad that was in last place in the conference when 2025 flipped to 2026 now has a strong chance to end a five-year streak without playoff hockey, and while the road won’t be easy – six of the last 14 games are against teams they’re directly battling for a postseason spot – the Blue Jackets are showing no signs of slowing down.
There have been some obvious reasons why the group has been able to turn it around, starting with the hiring of Rick Bowness as head coach on Jan. 12. The Blue Jackets are 17-2-4 in his tenure, and the team has turned from a defensively questionable squad prone to late-game struggles into one of the most relentless possession teams in the NHL.
They also enter the stretch run largely healthy, and the in-season acquisitions of forwards Mason Marchment and Conor Garland have strengthened the forward group into one of the deepest and most imposing in the NHL.
The team’s confidence that it would be a postseason squad has never wavered throughout all the ups and downs, and now the opportunity is there to earn a playoff bid against one of the most formidable fields in NHL history.
“We believe in this group,” forward Mathieu Olivier said. “We know we’re a playoff team. This Eastern Conference situation is making it as hard as anybody will have it. I understand the line to make the playoffs is probably going to be one of the highest in history. It just comes back to our job is to keep winning and keeping stringing these games (together).
“The way we’re playing, our process right now is really good. There’s some nights we might not get the results, but the way we’re playing is really good for our group right now.”
Here’s a look at five reasons why the Blue Jackets not only can finish the job to battle for the Stanley Cup but also make some noise when they get there.
They Believe
As Olivier noted, the Blue Jackets never stopped thinking they had the group to make a return to the postseason, even if the results didn’t always show it.
But as the Blue Jackets have jumped up the standings thanks to an NHL-best .833 points percentage since Jan. 11 – as well as a current 11-game point streak (7-0-4), the fifth longest in team history – that confidence has only strengthened.
It's not a cockiness but simply an attitude that they belong among the best teams in the league, which is sometimes half the battle at the NHL level. And while Columbus pulled into a tie with the Islanders for third in the Metropolitan Division last night with a game in hand, reaching that point is only half the battle.
“We’re definitely not gonna get overconfident,” defenseman Zach Werenski said. “We’re a long way from where we want to be, and that’s with an X next to our name (in the standings). We’re aware of what has to happen, but we have a great team in here and we are aware of that. When we play our team game and we play with pace and everyone is going, all four lines, all six D, our goalies playing so well, we’re a tough team to beat.”
The Bowness Bump
There’s no doubt the tenor of the season changed when Bowness took over. Before the coaching change, the Blue Jackets played stretches of excellent hockey only to come undone at the worst times, including nine games in which the team held a third-period lead only to lose.
Of course, seeing the record above, it’s clear the on-ice success from a record standpoint has improved, and a lot of it comes back to the man in charge. Much has been made of his ability to communicate with players, pushing them to be better while also taking into account their personalities and what each player needs to be successful.
When it comes to strategic measures, Bowness has made a few tweaks to the way the team plays without a complete overhaul, which would have been difficult midseason. Instead, he’s put a focus on key principles he wants his team to have, such as playing with pace, being in the face of the opposition and being above the puck.
“I think first and foremost he’s just a great leader,” forward Cole Sillinger said. “Just his communication and the way he conducts our room and himself is admirable. He’s just a great leader. I think the biggest thing is just teaching principles vs. systems.
“I think just the game of hockey, there’s so many reads that go within it, and you kind of have to just let hockey be played in my opinion, but having principles within that I think has allowed us to simplify our game and clean up areas that needed to be cleaned up on the defensive side of things.”
A Team Game
As Sillinger noted, the Blue Jackets have improved in a lot of ways since Bowness took over, but the biggest change has been in the team’s ability to keep the puck out of the net.
At the time of the coaching change, the Blue Jackets were allowing 3.38 goals per game, placing 28th in the league, and the advanced numbers weren’t much better – per Natural Stat Trick, the Blue Jackets were 24th of 32 teams in expected goals allowed per 60 minutes (2.77) and 15th in high-danger chances allowed per 60 (11.34) at 5-on-5.
But since Bowness arrived, those numbers have all improved. Columbus is third in the league since Jan. 13 in team defense, allowing 2.57 goals per game, and places fourth in the league in xGA/60 (2.44) and sixth in HDCA/60 (10.30). In all, the team’s expected goals share of 53.00 at 5-on-5 during his tenure is sixth in the NHL.
What does it all mean? In layman’s terms, the Blue Jackets are giving up fewer prime scoring chances, thanks in part to a forecheck that is making it much harder for opposing teams to clear their zone and come up the ice with speed. Once they’re there, opportunities from in front of the net have been more difficult to come by as well.
“For the most part over the last stretch, you look at the way we’re playing without the puck, every line looks the same,” Bowness said. “Watch them coming into our zone. We’re doing a much better job with the reads and responsibilities on the forecheck. ... I know the guys know what we look like when we’re doing those things. It makes it a lot easier when I know they know what we should look like.”
The improved defensive focus has also been helped by excellent goaltending from both Jet Greaves and Elvis Merzlikins. Greaves is 10-0-2 in 13 appearances, posting a 2.37 GAA and .912 save percentage, while Merzlikins is 7-2-2 in 12 games with a 2.54 GAA and .899 SV%.
They Beat Top Teams
When it comes to making noise in the postseason, you have to be able to beat the best, and the Blue Jackets have shown that’s the case.
Against the top eight teams in the NHL by points percentage at the moment – Colorado, Dallas, Carolina, Buffalo, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and Montreal – the Blue Jackets boast a 12-4-2 record on the season.
The latest example of that was Tuesday night’s game against a Carolina team on its way to a fourth Metropolitan Division title in six seasons. Olivier described the matchup as a “measuring stick,” and the Blue Jackets pulled away from one of the most difficult teams in the league to play against on the way to a 5-1 victory.
“I keep telling them, there’s not a team in this league we can’t beat no matter where they are in the standings,” Bowness said afterward. “There isn’t. That’s how we go into every game. We go into every game thinking we’re the better team, and if we play our game, we think we can beat anybody in this league. Tonight is a good example against a very, very good hockey club.”
The Shutdown Line
When Bowness took over the job as head coach, he said he looked at the roster and knew there was potential in Columbus, but even he couldn’t have known what his greatest luxury would become.
The line of Charlie Coyle at center with Sillinger and Olivier on either side has become a coach’s dream, a line not just capable of shutting down the best on the opposition but also putting the puck in the net.
While often facing the top offensive option on the other team, that trio has played the most minutes of any CBJ forward line this year at 5-on-5. In those more than 370 minutes of action, per MoneyPuck.com, the line has outscored foes 25-12.
“Watch them reload,” Bowness said. “Watch them backcheck. They go hard on the attack, but if they don’t have the puck, they’re coming back just as hard into our zone. That’s what makes them such an effective line.”
While the group’s primary challenge is keeping the opposition’s best off the board, they’ve also shown the ability to put the puck in the net. Coyle is just five points shy of his career high of 60 points, while Olivier has nine goals in the last 17 games and Sillinger is just four points away from his own career high water mark of 33 points.
“We know how we play, so let’s just do it,” Coyle said of the group’s attitude. “Do what we do. We’re going against some pretty good players, and let’s do a heck of a job.”
