PREVIEW: Blue Jackets welcome Golden Knights for 25th Anniversary Game

The 2025-26 season for the Blue Jackets has hit its first major inflection point.

A four-game losing streak, including three straight setbacks in regulation, has left Columbus in last place in the Metropolitan Division. While the Blue Jackets remain just three points out of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, they run the risk of falling behind the pack if they can’t start putting points in the bank quickly.

Thursday night’s 6-3 loss to Ottawa was particularly dispiriting, as the Blue Jackets fell into a 3-0 lead early, fought back to get within one at 4-3, then gave up a goal late in the second period and couldn’t muster much in the way of a response in the third.

The Blue Jackets got back together Friday morning for a video session focused on what went wrong against the Senators – in particular, a lack of commitment to defending, in the eyes of head coach Dean Evason – and a heart-to-heart chat before practice. When the pucks started flying, much of the intense session was focused on battle drills, and Evason was pleased with both how earnest the group was in its discussion as well as how hard the team skated.

“I think what gives you optimism is when you have meetings and you allow the team to speak, and they talk about the right things to do and how we need to play and all those types of things,” Evason said. “That gives us great optimism that we’re committed, that it’s a one-off, and/or situations where maybe we weren’t committed enough like last night. But to hear the guys talk today, about where we are at and how we want to play, that gives us optimism.

“Do you know if that’s going to continue and what’s ahead? No. But you have the belief because of the way we conducted ourselves in the meetings and the way that we practiced. Now we need to translate it on the ice tomorrow night.”

This season hasn't unfolded exactly as the Blue Jackets had hoped, but the good news is that despite all the adversity to this point, they remain in a spot where they can still make plenty of noise in the postseason discussion. Take it from someone like Charlie Coyle, the CBJ veteran who has played playoff hockey in all 13 of his NHL seasons coming into the season.

“We all know how to play hockey,” Coyle said. “I've been in the playoffs every year, and I’ve played on some pretty good teams. I don’t think I've ever played a year where we haven’t gone through something like this. Every team does it. But it’s the good teams that correct it and figure it out quicker than others.”

So while things haven't gone as the Blue Jackets have hoped, Saturday is another chance to put important points in the bank, and the Blue Jackets are approaching it as a game they can win if they play up to the best of their abilities.

“There’s still a lot of hockey to be played this season,” defenseman Zach Werenski said. “At the end of the day, you still have to be positive and forget about things and move on and get ready for the next game, but we have to win hockey games. It’s as simple as that. We’re letting it slip, we’re falling behind, and it’s on us as players in this room to correct it.”

Tonight will be the third 25th Anniversary Game Celebration of the year, as CBJ alumni Tyler Wright, David Savard, Jody Shelley, Chris Clark and Aaron Johnson will sign autographs on the main concourse pregame before being recognized pregame.

Scratches: F Zach Aston-Reese, D Jake Christiansen

Injured reserve/Non-Roster: F Mathieu Olivier (upper body injury), D Erik Gudbranson (upper body injury), F Boone Jenner (upper body injury)

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets used these lines at practice Friday, though Evason noted the session was more about pace and battle level than any specific strategy. Time will tell if the Blue Jackets go with them for the game or make any changes.

This Day in CBJ History

Dec. 13, 2011: Rick Nash notches his third shootout-winning goal of the month of December, scoring past Roberto Luongo in the second round of a 2-1 win at Nationwide Arena. Mark Letestu, Nash and James Wisniewski scored on their three shots, marking just the third time in team history the Jackets go 3-for-3 in the shootout.

Dec. 13, 2014: The Blue Jackets post a 4-3 shootout win, their sixth straight victory, over Pittsburgh at Nationwide Arena. After Kris Letang tied the score with 11 seconds to play on an extra attacker goal, Ryan Johansen and Cam Atkinson scored in the shootout. Boone Jenner scored on a penalty shot in the third to tie the score, while the Blue Jackets also got goals from Nick Foligno and Jack Johnson.

The Numbers Game

Brendan Gaunce is set to play in his 200th NHL game, while Zach Werenski set a CBJ defenseman record by playing in his 598th career contest Thursday. ... Werenski remains third among NHL defensemen in goals (nine), second in points (32), first in shots on goal (114), second in average ice time (26:39) and is first in multipoint games (11). He has points in 12 of the last 15 games (5-16-21) and a nine-game home point streak (5-11-16). ... Boone Jenner had a goal and an assist in his return to the lineup Thursday. ... Sean Monahan has three goals and four assists in the last seven games. … Blue Jackets defensemen have scored 23 goals this season, tied with Washington for the most in the NHL. … Jet Greaves has posted a .915 save percentage in his last 11 appearances and is ninth in the league in goals saved above average per 60 minutes according to MoneyPuck.com. ... Adam Fantilli has scored 35 goals in 2025, fourth most ever by a CBJ player in a calendar year behind just Rick Nash (43 in 2009, and 39 in 2006) and Cam Atkinson (42 in 2018). ... Miles Wood is one goal away from 100 in his NHL career. ... The Blue Jackets have six power-play goals in the last six games (6-17, 35.3 percent).

Know The Foe: Vegas Golden Knights

Head coach: Bruce Cassidy (Fourth season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.07 (14th) | Scoring defense: 2.83 (12th) | PP: 24.5 percent (7th) | PK: 81.6 percent (T-12th)

The narrative: Vegas continues to be a team with one goal, a Stanley Cup championship, and they’re not afraid to do whatever it takes to get there. The Golden Knights have made the postseason seven of eight previous seasons and captured the 2023 Stanley Cup under Cassidy. This year, the Golden Knights have points in 24 of 30 games and are again in the mix in for what would be a sixth division title in the nine years of franchise history.

Scoring leaders: The team’s 2021 acquisition of Jack Eichel has proved to be a defining moment for the Golden Knights, as the center posted a career-high 94 points a year ago and could top that this year with a 12-28-40 line thus far to tie for seventh in the league in scoring. Big-ticket free agent signing Mitch Marner is right behind, as the former Maple Leaf has a 6-23-29 line, while Tomas Hertl (13 goals), Pavel Dorofeyev (12) and Ivan Barbashev (11) all have double digits in goals and Mark Stone has a 6-18-24 line in 14 games.

In net: Akira Schmid leads the way this year with 15 starts and 17 appearances, going 11-2-4 with a 2.33 GAA and .903 save percentage. The Golden Knights have used three other goalies in Carl Lindbom, Adin Hill and Carter Hart, the former Flyers goalie who signed recently and is expected to get his fourth start tonight (2-0-1, 2.80, .889).

What's new: In a city known for its gambling, Vegas isn’t afraid to push its chips to the center of the table, acquiring Marner this summer and signing him to an eight-year deal. He joins an impressive collection of talent up front, though the Golden Knights have yet to fully hit their full stride, going 5-4-5 in the month of November before winning four of the first five in December. Like Columbus, Vegas hasn’t been afraid to go the distance, playing 13 overtime contests in its first 30 games.

Trending: The teams have met 14 times since the Golden Knights came into the league, and each team has won seven of the contests thus far. Columbus is 4-2-1 at home, though the Blue Jackets lost last season’s contest in Nationwide Arena by a 4-0 final March 13.

Former CBJ: Original Golden Knights forward William Karlsson remains in Vegas, though he is on injured reserve with a lower body injury after posting four goals and seven points in 14 games. Brandon Saad signed with the team last season and has a 1-3-4 line in 27 games.