PREVIEW: Blue Jackets hit the road to take on Blackhawks

The Blue Jackets earned an important regulation victory Wednesday, tallying with under four minutes left to break a tie and down Philadelphia by a 5-3 score.

But what might have been as crucial as the two points is the way Columbus earned them.

First, the Blue Jackets had to steady themselves after watching a 3-1 lead evaporate in the third period. Second, they created Sean Monahan’s game-winning goal in a type of way that brought a smile to the coach's face.

Columbus won a neutral zone faceoff, quickly got the puck up the ice and then went to work. The retrievals and forechecking were on point to hem the Flyers in their defensive end, leading to good movement in the offensive zone. That freed Monahan to get open at the back post, where Damon Severson’s pinpoint pass found him with time to put the winning goal past netminder Dan Vladar.

“Do it the right way – five guys on the same page,” head coach Rick Bowness said of the tally. “Any forecheck takes five guys. It’s pressure and then it’s reading off the pressure and making sure we have guys in position for support if there’s a breakdown. That was textbook.”

The Blue Jackets know they have the talent to fill up the net, but what will truly make them successful and moving up the Metropolitan Division standings is playing the team game that’s earned them seven victories in the past eight contests. Columbus did just that for long stretches of the game against the Flyers, using a stifling forecheck and good sticks to limit the Flyers to just 13 shots on goal and 25 shot attempts through two periods.

They got a little loose in the third period as Philadelphia made its comeback, but they got back to basics to earn the winning goal and then close things out from there. After the game, Bowness acknowledged there were some mistakes to let the Flyers back in it, but on the whole he was pleased with his team’s attention to detail.

“I think there’s times we made it too easy for them to come at us, and that’s puck management,” Bowness said. “We’re gonna clean that up, or we’re going to keep addressing it anyway. They’re gonna get sick me of talking about it. There are things we can clean up, but we did the right things at the right time for the most part. It was very good to watch the first couple of periods because we weren’t giving up anything.”

And with the Blue Jackets hitting the road tonight to take on Chicago before completing the back-to-back tomorrow in St. Louis, the hope is that kind of game will travel. The Blue Jackets are also earning the very dangerous trait of collective belief during the recent winning run, and even when things got hairy against the Flyers, they still felt they had what it took to prevail – and then proved it.

“You have that feeling on the bench where you’re out there and you’re gonna win games,” Monahan said. “It’s a good feeling to have. We have a good team. The belief in here is just continuing to grow, so it’s fun to be a part of.”

Scratches: Danton Heinen, Jake Christiansen, Dante Fabbro (lower body injury)

Injured Reserve: D Brendan Smith (knee surgery, out three to four months as of Jan. 8)

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets had an optional skate Thursday so any potential changes to the lineup will come at today's morning skate.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 30, 2009: Steve Mason makes 17 saves in the seventh shutout of his rookie career as the Blue Jackets earn a 1-0 victory vs. Ottawa at Nationwide Arena. Jakub Voracek scores for Columbus in just the fourth 1-0 win in franchise history.

Jan. 30, 2010: Kris Russell scores 1:32 into overtime to push the Blue Jackets to a 3-2 victory at St. Louis. Derek Dorsett and Fedor Tyutin also score for the Blue Jackets.

Jan. 30, 2024: Elvis Merzlikins stops 21 shots to earn the 10th shutout of his career and Dmitri Voronkov scores the only goal of the game as the Blue Jackets take a 1-0 win at St. Louis.

Jan. 30, 2025: Cole Sillinger scores 52 seconds into overtime as the Blue Jackets claim a 2-1 win in a tight game at Vegas. Adam Fantilli tallies the other goal, while Merzlikins saves 25 of 26 shots against.

The Numbers Game

After two assists Wednesday vs. Philadelphia, Zach Werenski has points in 16 of the last 18 games (10-17-27) as well as 27 of the last 32 (15-31-46). He is first among NHL defensemen in goals (19) and points (57), second in average ice time (26:34) and is first in multipoint games (19, tied for eighth in NHL). With one more goal, he’ll notch his third 20-goal season and become the fourth active NHL defenseman with three-plus 20-goal seasons. ... With eight goals and 11 points since joining the team, Marchment has set a franchise record for tallies and is tied with Andrew Cassels for points in a player's first 10 games with the franchise. ... Kirill Marchenko has nine points in the last eight games (3-6-9) and points in 13 of the last 17 games (9-9-18). ... Charlie Coyle has two goals and five points in the last two games as well as a 6-4-10 line in the last eight contests, while Sean Monahan has three goals in the last four games. ... Goaltender Jet Greaves has won his last four decisions and has a .915 save percentage in his last 13 appearances. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have scored 39 goals this season, the most in the NHL. … Columbus has scored the first goal in 16 of the last 21 contests and 31 of 52 games overall. ... The Blue Jackets are 5-1 in shootouts this year.

Know The Foe: Chicago Blackhawks

Head coach: Jeff Blashill (First season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.65 (26th) | Scoring defense: 3.13 (20th) | PP: 19.6 percent (17th) | PK: 85.6 percent (1st)

The narrative: The Blackhawks were the team of the early 2010s with Stanley Cups in 2010, ‘13 and ‘15, but a massive rebuild followed – led by the selection of Connor Bedard as the No. 1 overall pick in 2023 – once the roster aged. The Blackhawks haven’t made the postseason since 2020 or won a playoff series since the last Cup, but the massive capital of draft picks over the past few years has started to arrive. Bedard leads the way, but the young stockpile of players to make an NHL impact includes such names as Frank Nazar, Artyom Levshunov and Oliver Moore.

Scoring leaders: Bedard missed 13 games with a shoulder injury but was among the NHL's leading scorers in the early going, and he's still well over a point per game with 21 goals and 29 assists among his 50 points in year three with 41 games played. Tyler Bertuzzi leads the Blackhawks and is in the NHL’s top 20 with 25 goals, while Andre Burakovsky (10-20-30) is the only other skater with more than 22 points. Levshunov, 20, was the No. 2 overall pick in 2024 and leads the defense with two goals and 21 points.

In net: One of the biggest reasons the Blackhawks have improved this season is the rise of goaltender Spencer Knight, who is expected to get the start tonight. Acquired last year in the Seth Jones deal with Florida, Knight is tied for fifth in the league with 36 starts and is 15-14-7 with a 2.59 GAA and .910 save percentage.

What's new: Chicago remains a few points out of a playoff spot, but the Blackhawks are on pace for their best season since the shortened 2021 campaign. The Blackhawks have found January to be tough sledding, though, losing four straight games and posting a 3-6-2 record in their last 11 while scoring just 20 goals in that span.

Trending: The Blue Jackets have won five straight in the series – out scoring Chicago 27-10 – and are 5-2-1 in their last eight in the United Center, including last season’s 6-3 victory Dec. 1.

Former CBJ: Nick Foligno is wearing the captain’s “C” in Chicago just as he did in Columbus, and the longtime CBJ fan favorite has a 2-8-10 line in 31 games after missing a long spell with injury.