PREVIEW: Blue Jackets are back in Nationwide Arena to host Islanders

A few times early in his tenure, head coach Rick Bowness has said there will come a time where the Blue Jackets play well but not get the bounces or the win. 

He was proved right Thursday night. The Blue Jackets outshot Boston by a 40-23 margin, putting 20 shots on goal in the first period, but dropped a 4-2 final to the Bruins in the return from the Olympic break. 

Boston scored its first goal off a CBJ defender, got its second on the power play, tallied its third when a CBJ defenseman stumbled and then finished things off with an empty-net goal. As Bowness said, sometimes things just don’t go your way. 

“Listen, we had more than enough scoring chances to win that game,” Bowness said. “I thought we dominated the first. Obviously, we dominated the third. The second was even. They got the power-play goal. The third goal they got tonight, we fell, we stumbled, and the guy comes down and gets a perfect shot.  

“But we had more than enough chances to win that hockey game, so that game did not get away from us. We played hard, we played well. We play like that, we’ll live with the results. Sometimes things don’t go your way. Tonight’s a good example of that.” 

Of course, it was unfortunate timing, as the setback ended a seven-game winning streak for the Blue Jackets and left the team six points adrift from a playoff spot with 25 games to go. It was also just the second loss for the Blue Jackets in 13 games, but Zach Werenski felt the same as Bowness in the aftermath.  

“You play that way, you’re going to win a lot of games,” Werenski said. “I feel like everything’s kind of gone right for us the last 12 games, and even when we weren’t necessarily maybe playing our best, we were winning games. Today, we played one of our better games and it just didn’t work out. That’s hockey, and you take the positives out of it, and that was that we were the better team and probably should have got the result but we didn’t. So we move forward and get ready for another big game on Saturday.” 

Indeed, it will be another big game for the Blue Jackets tonight, as a New York Islanders team holding third place in the Metropolitan Division comes to Columbus for the first home game since Feb. 4. There’s still plenty of time left in the season, but considering the shape of the standings, getting two points feels crucial.  

Before the game, the Blue Jackets will recognize those who took part in the recently completed Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, including Werenski. His Team USA jersey and gold medal will be on display before the game and through the second period on the main concourse near section 108.

Scratches: Danton Heinen, Jake Christiansen, Egor Zamula  

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

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets did not practice Friday, so any potential changes will be seen at the team’s 9:30 a.m. morning skate today. 

This Day in CBJ History  

Feb. 28, 2001: The Blue Jackets defeat Phoenix by a 5-2 score in Nationwide Arena, with Marc Denis facing the first penalty shot in team history and denying Jeremy Roenick in the second period. Steve Heinze becomes the second CBJ player in the inaugural season to score his 20th goal, joining Geoff Sanderson, while Robert Kron becomes the first player in team history with three assists in a game. 

Feb. 28, 2004: Denis makes another penalty shot save, this time denying Colorado's Paul Kariya, during a wild 5-4 overtime win vs. the Avs in Nationwide Arena. David Vyborny (1-4-5) ties a team record with five points, while Jaroslav Spacek scores the overtime winner on the power play, the third OT PPG in his CBJ career.  

Feb. 28, 2011: Columbus acquires forward Scottie Upshall and defenseman Sami Lepisto in a trade with Phoenix, sending the first draft pick in team history, Rostislav Klesla, and center Dane Byers to the Coyotes. Klesla finishes his CBJ career with 515 games played, scoring 41 goals among his 133 points. 

Feb. 28, 2019: Seth Jones scores with 33 seconds left in overtime as the Blue Jackets take a 4-3 win over Philadelphia at Nationwide Arena. It’s the seventh OT winner of Jones’ career, breaking a tie with Rick Nash for the most in team history. 

Feb. 28, 2023: Eric Robinson notches his first career hat trick, scoring three goals in a 5-3 victory at Buffalo. Earlier in the day, the team trades forward Gustav Nyquist to Minnesota for a 2023 fifth-round draft pick.  

Feb. 28, 2024: Boone Jenner becomes the first CBJ player to reach the 700 games played milestone in a contest at the New York Rangers.  

The Numbers Game 

Zach Werenski is the only NHL defenseman with at least 20 goals (20) and 60 points (63) on the season, placing second among league blueliners in both categories. Werenski has an eight-game point streak (2-9-11) and points in 21 of the last 23 games (11-22-33) as well as 32 of the last 37 (16-36-52). He leads NHL defensemen in multipoint games (20, tied for eighth in NHL) and is the fourth active NHL defenseman with three-plus 20-goal seasons. … Kirill Marchenko notched his 20th goal of the season Thursday, making him the first player to begin his NHL career with four straight 20-goal seasons with the Blue Jackets. He’s also just one of four Blue Jackets in team history (Rick Nash, 8; Cam Atkinson, 6; R.J. Umberger, 4) with four 20-goal seasons. ... Charlie Coyle has nine goals and 17 points in the past 13 games, placing him tied for fifth in the NHL in tallies in that span. He has a 5-7-12 line in the last seven contests and six games with at least three points this season. ... With nine goals since joining the team, Mason Marchment has set a new franchise record for a player in his first 15 games with the Blue Jackets. He had two assists Thursday. ... Adam Fantilli has a 2-6-8 line in the last seven games while Marchment and Mathieu Olivier each have four goals in that span. ... Goaltender Jet Greaves has won six straight starts with two shutouts and posted a .923 save percentage in his last seven appearances, while Elvis Merzlikins has a .916 save percentage in his last seven games. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have scored 44 goals this season, the most in the NHL. … Columbus has scored the first goal in 20 of the last 26 contests and 35 of 57 games overall. ... The Blue Jackets are 5-1 in shootouts this year. ... Miles Wood is one goal away from 100 in his NHL career.  

Know The Foe: New York Islanders  

Head coach: Patrick Roy (Third season)    

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.86 (22nd) | Scoring defense: 2.71 (3rd) | PP: 16.1 percent (T-27th) | PK: 81.5 percent (9th)     

The narrative: Former Blue Jacket Mathieu Darche’s first season in charge has been charmed, as a team that finished sixth in the Metro a season ago has been one of the surprises of the league. The Islanders started to build for the future by making three first-round draft picks this summer, including No. 1 overall choice Matthew Schaefer after winning the draft lottery, and his impressive rookie season has helped lead the Islanders into a playoff spot two-thirds of the way through the season. 

Scoring leaders: Mat Barzal has helped lead the team’s recent charge, posting a 7-15-22 line in the last 18 games to now lead the Isles on the season with 52 points, including 17 goals. Schaefer’s put together an incredible season for an 18-year-old rookie, notching 18 goals and 41 points to place third among NHL defensemen in goals. Bo Horvat has a team-high 24 goals in 45 games, while five others (Emil Heineman, 15; Jean-Gabriel Pageau, 13; Simon Holmström, 13; Anthony Duclair, 12; Anders Lee, 12) have double digits in tallies.  

In net: Coming off four consecutive top-10 finishes in the Vezina voting, Ilya Sorokin could win it this year, as he leads the NHL with six shutouts. He's posted a 21-13-2 record with a 2.45 GAA and .915 save percentage while leading the league in goals saved above expected. David Rittich has proved to be a shrewd pickup to serve as the No. 2, as the veteran Czech netminder is 12-8-3 with a 2.57 GAA and .900 SV%.  

What's new: While the Islanders have been a bit of a surprise this year, they’ve shown no signs of slowing down. New York has won three in a row coming into this one and six of eight overall, including a 4-3 OT victory Thursday at Montreal thanks to a late equalizer from Lee and Pageau’s winner. The Islanders have been without forwards Pierre Engvall and Kyle Palmieri, defenseman Alexander Romanov and goalie Semyon Varlamov long term, but they’ve found a mix that works.  

Trending: The teams have split the first two games of the season series, with the Islanders rallying to win by a 3-2 score Nov. 2 on Long Island before the Blue Jackets claimed a 4-2 win at Nationwide Arena on Dec. 28. Columbus has won three straight against the Islanders in Nationwide Arena. 

Former CBJ: Duclair has a 12-14-26 line and scored eight goals in January, while Adam Boqvist has played 20 games with an assist.