PREVIEW: Coming off a comeback win, Blue Jackets head to Ottawa 

If the Blue Jackets are going to get out of the Eastern Conference cellar and get back into the thick of playoff race, it’s going to take a winning streak to do so.

There’s plenty of time for Columbus to move past the bevy of teams in front of it, especially considering the Blue Jackets are just four points behind the four-way tie of Florida, Buffalo, New Jersey and the New York Rangers for the final wild card spot in the East.

But considering the eight teams directly in front of the Jackets are separated by just two points, there’s a true logjam at play, one that won’t be easy to work through as the season goes on. That’s why adding two points to the bank each night is important, and the Blue Jackets have now accomplished that with back-to-back regulation wins Monday in Los Angeles and Sunday vs. the New York Islanders.

“We’re just grinding for wins,” head coach Dean Evason said. “It’s enjoyable just because we need to feel good, and our guys feel good right now. We need to continue to do that. As we’ve seen so many times around the league, you watch the highlights every morning, a team gets on a roll and they get back in it, right? That’s what we need to do. We need to get on a roll and get back in it.”

And if there’s a game that can help you get on a roll, it was Sunday night’s comeback victory over the Isles. Despite an impressive opening period and a push to tie the game throughout the third, Blue Jackets were down 2-1 going into the final five minutes before goals from Ivan Provorov, Kirill Marchenko and Cole Sillinger in a 3:27 span clinched a wild win.

“Coming back like that, that can build something for us,” forward Mason Marchment said. “We’re starting to string ‘em together here, and hopefully we can string a couple more together. I love the way we played in the third there. That was awesome. The fans were into it, and that was great.”

The Blue Jackets don’t have long to rest on their laurels, though, getting right back to action tonight in Ottawa in the second half of a back-to-back. Columbus will try to carry over the momentum from Sunday’s win and iron out the inconsistencies to deliver a 60-minute performance.

“I think we had a really good first period,” Provorov said after the Islanders game. “Obviously we got away from our game a little bit in the second, and we knew that if we came out and played the right way in the third, we were able to tie the game and win it. It takes a lot of effort, it takes a lot of guts to be able to come back in the third period, and I think everybody did a great job of sticking to the plan and playing the right way. Obviously it paid off today.”

Scratches: F Zach Aston-Reese, F Yegor Chinakhov, F Isac Lundeström (lower body injury)

Injured reserve/Non-Roster: D Erik Gudbranson (upper body injury); D Zach Werenski (lower body injury)

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets will announce any changes to the roster during pregame media.

This Day in CBJ History

Dec. 29, 2006: Wes Walz scores the controversial pants goal in overtime as the Blue Jackets fall 4-3 at Minnesota. Martin Skoula’s pass deflected into the Wild defenseman’s breezers, and he ended up being checked into the net by Jason Chimera, with a seven-minute review confirming he had in fact scored the winning goal.

Dec. 29, 2008: Steve Mason stops 24 shots to earn his second shutout in a row as the Blue Jackets win 2-0 at Los Angeles, with Kris Russell and Rick Nash scoring for Columbus. Mason would go on to earn his CBJ-record third straight shutout two nights later in Anaheim.

Dec. 29, 2023: Johnny Gaudreau scores 2:56 into overtime and the Blue Jackets claim a 6-5 victory vs. Toronto at Nationwide Arena. The goal capped a three-point night for Gaudreau, while Adam Fantilli tied the game with 6:14 to play.

The Numbers Game

Mason Marchment (three goals, one assist) is the seventh player in franchise history with four points in his first three games with the Blue Jackets. ... After his 12th career multigoal game Sunday, Kirill Marchenko has three tallies in the last two contests. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have scored 29 goals this season, one behind Washington for the most in the NHL. … Damon Severson and Denton Mateychuk each have a three-game assist streak, notching four helpers apiece in that span. ... Adam Fantilli has scored 36 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. ... Zach Werenski is three assists shy of becoming the first CBJ player to notch 300 career helpers, while Jenner is two points away from becoming the fourth player in team history with 400 points after Nash (547), Werenski (424) and Atkinson (402). ... With a goal in his last game last Saturday, Werenski became just the second CBJ defenseman to post five tallies in a three-game span – he was the first in 2019-20 – and the first NHL blueliner to do so since Erik Karlsson with San Jose in 2022. ... He is tied for first among NHL defensemen in goals (14) and second in points (40), first in shots on goal (132), second in average ice time (26:48) and is first in multipoint games (14). He has points in 16 of the last 19 games (10-19-29, tied for fourth in NHL in that span) and a 5-11-16 line in December to sit one shy of tying his own CBJ record for points in a month by a defenseman (17 in January 2025).

Know The Foe: Ottawa Senators

Head coach: Travis Green (Second season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.27 (8th) | Scoring defense: 3.24 (22nd) | PP: 25.8 percent (4th) | PK: 70.4 percent (32nd)

The narrative: A talented young core led by forwards Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, Shane Pinto, Ridly Greig and Jake Sanderson helped the Sens break a seven-year streak without postseason hockey, as Ottawa returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs a year ago only to fall to Toronto in the first round. The next step is to build on that, and the Sens are in the logjam near the playoff line in the Eastern Conference and sit just one point out of a spot.

Scoring leaders: One of the reasons the Sens have been inconsistent out of the gate is the fact captain Brady Tkachuk missed 20 games with a hand injury, though he's posted a 6-11-17 line in 17 games since returning. Stützle has been on a tear of late, posting seven goals and 14 points in the last eight games to lead the squad with a 19-21-40 line, while Drake Batherson follows with 15 goals among 37 points. Acquired late last season from Buffalo, Dylan Cozens has an 11-18-29 line, while Sanderson – the son of former CBJ forward Geoff Sanderson – leads the defense with seven goals and 26 points, good for eighth in the NHL among blueliners.

In net: Ottawa announced starting goalie Linus Ullmark would be taking a leave of absence for personal reasons Sunday, leaving youngster Leevi Meriläinen – who is 4-6-0 with a 3.43 GAA and .874 SV% – as the only goalie on the roster who has played this season.

What's new: Injuries have taken a toll in the early going, as not only did Tkachuk miss time, but star defenseman Thomas Chabot and young forward Shane Pinto have missed time as well. Pinto remains out along with forward Lars Eller and defenseman Tyler Kleven. Ottawa had won five of six before dropping the final game before the holiday to Buffalo and the first contest back Saturday night vs. Toronto, and the Sens have averaged 4.25 goals per game in the last eight.

Trending: The Blue Jackets dropped the first game of the season between the teams, falling Dec. 11 by a 6-3 score in Nationwide Arena. Columbus has lost five straight games in Kanata, with the last victory a 4-1 triumph March 16, 2022.

Former CBJ: None