PREVIEW: Blue Jackets begin Bowness era by hosting Flames

When the Blue Jackets take the ice at Nationwide Arena tonight, they’ll do so with a new boss behind the bench.

Columbus president of hockey operations and general manager Don Waddell announced Monday afternoon that the Blue Jackets had relieved head coach Dean Evason and assistant coach Steve McCarthy of their duties, while also hiring Rick Bowness as head coach.

Bowness comes to Columbus with a bevy of experience, first standing behind a bench as an assistant coach in Winnipeg in 1984-85 and beginning his head coaching career with the Jets in 1988-89. The 2,726 games he’s spent in the NHL as either a head coach or assistant are a league record, and he’s skippered five playoff teams as a head coach, took Dallas to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final and was an All-Star coach in 2024 with the Jets.

“Rick Bowness is a tremendous coach with invaluable experience and knowledge, and he will bring a steadiness to our team at an important juncture in our season,” Waddell said in a release. “He is a good communicator whose teams play with structure, are sound defensively and we believe he is the right person to bring out the best in our group.”

Tuesday will be a big day for Bowness, as he will meet his team at its morning skate and then coach his first game tonight against Calgary. The Blue Jackets are in need of a quick turnaround if they are to make a postseason run, as Columbus is tied for last place in the Eastern Conference, seven points behind the final wild card spot.

The Blue Jackets have lost four of the last five and 12 of the last 18, but they hope their last game will provide them some momentum going into the first game with the new coach. After the Jackets lost the first three games of a Western swing, Dmitri Voronkov’s overtime goal Sunday gave the Blue Jackets a 3-2 victory against Utah.

“That was two points on the line that we definitely needed at the end of a road trip, and we had nothing to show for it yet,” forward Charlie Coyle said. “That’s a huge two points that get us feeling a little better heading home for a little homestand. We have to take care of business and string together some wins here in our building.”

As Coyle noted, now is the time for the Blue Jackets to make their push, as seven of the next eight games are set for Nationwide Arena. Columbus needs a winning streak to be in the postseason race at the February Olympic break, and the stretch of home games provides the Blue Jackets a prime opportunity to do so.

“It’s a good step,” goalie Jet Greaves said of Sunday’s victory, “but it’s important for us to build on this and keep going now.”

Scratches: Zach Aston-Reese, Jake Christiansen

Injured Reserve: F Mason Marchment (upper body injury, week to week); F Miles Wood (lower body injury, week to week); D Erik Gudbranson (upper body injury); F Isac Lundeström (lower body injury, week to week); D Brendan Smith (knee surgery, out three to four months as of Jan. 8)

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets were off Monday, so any changes to the lineup that Bowness would like to make will be figured out at the team’s morning skate. The Blue Jackets will also have to see the status of Mateychuk, who played just one shift before leaving Sunday’s game with an upper body injury.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 13, 1997: Columbus Hockey Limited makes a formal presentation to the NHL in New York. The partnership formed by five investors interested in attracting a National Hockey League expansion team to Columbus previously submitted an application and a $100,000 fee to the NHL office.

Jan. 13, 2022: Elvis Merzlikins stops all 31 shots against and the Blue Jackets romp to a 6-0 victory at Carolina. Yegor Chinakhov scores two goals to lead five CBJ players with multiple points.

Jan. 13, 2024: Kirill Marchenko scores a goal in his 100th NHL game, a 7-4 loss vs. Seattle, and matches Rick Nash for the most goals for a CBJ player (35) in his first 100 career contests.

The Numbers Game

Zach Werenski has points in 10 of the last 11 games (7-10-17) and has scored seven times in the last eight games. He is first among NHL defensemen in goals (16), second in points (46), second in average ice time (26:36) and is first in multipoint games (16). He has points in 21 of his last 25 games (12-24-36) and at least one point in his last 14 home games (10-16-26). ... Kirill Marchenko has points in eight of the last 10 games (6-5-11). ... Mikael Pyyhtiä scored his first goal of the season Sunday, while Danton Heinen notched his first CBJ point with an assist. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have scored 34 goals this season, the most in the NHL. … Columbus had its fourth game of the season with multiple power-play goals Sunday. ... Ivan Provorov notched his 300th career NHL point Sunday, while Boone Jenner is two assists away from 200 in his CBJ/NHL career.

Know The Foe: Calgary Flames

Head coach: Ryan Huska (Third season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.53 (31st) | Scoring defense: 2.96 (T-13th) | PP: 13.6 percent (32nd) | PK: 82.2 percent (8th)

The narrative: The Flames have struggled to find their footing since Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk left, going from winning the Pacific Division in 2021-22 to missing the playoffs three straight seasons. The long-term results – just five playoff appearances and two series wins in the last 16 years – aren’t much better, either. For whatever reason, Calgary just hasn’t been able to find a consistent mix, but the hope is with some young talent developing, the Flames are on the rise with a new arena opening for the 2027-28 campaign.

Scoring leaders: Calgary finished 29th in the NHL in scoring a year ago (2.68 goals per game) and is struggling even more this season. Nazem Kadri leads the way with an 8-24-32 line – his point total is third lowest for an NHL team leader this season – while Rasmus Andersson is the top-scoring defenseman with nine goals and 28 points. Blake Coleman leads the team with 13 tallies while Matthew Coronato has 12 and Mikael Backlund is having a solid year with a 10-17-27 line and plus-15 rating.

In net: Dustin Wolf finished second in the Calder voting last year and eighth in the Vezina standings, and he's overcome a tough start to post a 14-18-2 record, 2.97 GAA and .898 save percentage. Longtime AHLer Devin Cooley has impressed this season, starting 11 games and playing in 14 with a 5-4-2 record, 2.29 GAA and .918 save percentage.

What's new: The Flames got off to a brutal start, winning just five of their first 21 games, but found something in mid-November, going on a 13-5-1 stretch that lifted them back into the playoff race. Losses in four of the last five have followed, though, and the Flames remain six points out of a wild card spot. Injuries have mounted some – Coleman and standout young defenseman Zayne Parekh missed Saturday’s win at Pittsburgh – and the Flames have just five goals in the last four games.

Trending: Columbus dropped the season opener between the teams Nov. 5, giving up two early goals on the way to a 5-1 setback. The Blue Jackets have won three straight in Nationwide Arena between the squads, including a 5-2 win on Nov. 29 last season.

Former CBJ: Defenseman Jake Bean has played in 16 games, posting a goal and an assist, but has been out since mid-December with an injury.