PREVIEW: Blue Jackets head West to take on Sharks

The Blue Jackets have a 4-1-1 record in the past four games, exactly the kind of run they need to string together to get back into the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

But what’s frustrating about the current run is it feels like it should be even better.

Columbus had two-goal leads in the third period of both losses but saw them get erased – first on New Year’s Eve by New Jersey in a two-minute span, and then by Pittsburgh on Sunday with the tying goal coming with just 14 seconds remaining on the clock before the Pens won in overtime.

That’s three more points the Blue Jackets feel like they should have in the bank, which would close their gap to the final wild card spot from five points to just two. But perhaps most mystifying is how the Blue Jackets have outscored the opposition by a 7-0 margin in the third period in the four recent wins but been outscored 5-0 in the losses.

Head coach Dean Evason spoke of how Columbus played a “boring” third period while closing out Buffalo in a 5-1 win Saturday, but the Blue Jackets couldn’t replicate that effort in the setback against the Pens.

“We just wanted it to be boring and just keep frustrating them over and over again, and we didn’t do that,” Evason said. “We did it for the most part in the second period and three quarters of the first period, but yeah, once it starts slipping away from you, it’s hard to catch it again.”

Of course, Blue Jackets fans know the Jekyll-and-Hyde nature of this year's squad has been on display for much of the season, with the team seeing a number of third-period leads evaporate as the year has gone on. Figuring out that consistency has been elusive, much to the frustration of someone like Zach Werenski.

“I feel like when we have energy and our bench is alive and we’re coming wave after wave, we’re a really good hockey team,” Werenski said. “I feel like sometimes in games, our energy can dip a little, and that gives other teams life. I don’t know what causes it. Obviously on (Pittsburgh’s) second goal, we make a mistake and give them a free one, but we’re still fine. It’s a 4-2 game going into the third at home in front of a great crowd. We just have to get our energy back.”

The Blue Jackets will need that energy as tonight’s game at San Jose starts a four-game Western Conference road trip, with the quartet of contests taking place over just six days. When asked where he goes from here, whether it’s pulling a Letterkenny and kicking over a trash can or having a couple of cocktails, Evason had a quick response.

“Probably all of the above,” he said. “We have to find a way to put it behind us and gain that energy that we know we can play with. It’ll be good that we’re out on the road and can get together and grind and fight together to try to get wins.”

Scratches: F Mason Marchment (upper body), D Dysin Mayo, D Egor Zamula

Injured reserve/Non-Roster: F Miles Wood (lower body injury, week to week); D Erik Gudbranson (upper body injury, day to day); F Isac Lundeström (lower body injury, week to week); D Brendan Smith (lower body injury, week to week)

Roster Report: Monahan will return to the lineup after missing four games, potentially going in for Marchment, who aggravated a lower body injury in morning skate suffered Sunday vs. Pittsburgh. Zamula signed a one-year contract for the rest of the season Tuesday afternoon and is expected to join the team tomorrow.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 6, 2014: Mark Letestu and Ryan Johansen score in a shootout and Sergei Bobrovsky stops both shots against as the Blue Jackets take a 4-3 victory in Madison Square Garden against the Rangers. Columbus would go on to win its next seven contests, giving the team a then-franchise record eight-game winning streak.

Jan. 6, 2016: The Blue Jackets make a massive trade, sending Johansen to Nashville for defenseman Seth Jones. Jones would go on to notch a 50-173-223 line in 381 games over six seasons with Columbus.

Jan. 6, 2022: Jakub Voracek plays in his 1,000th career NHL game, doing so for the Blue Jackets at New Jersey. He is the fourth player in team history to reach that milestone in a CBJ uniform.

Jan. 6, 2024: Cole Sillinger notches his second career hat trick, but the Blue Jackets fall in overtime by a 4-3 score vs. Minnesota in Nationwide Arena.

The Numbers Game

After posting a goal and an assist Sunday, Zach Werenski is just the second CBJ player in team history to have five consecutive multipoint games, tying Artemi Panarin’s mark from 2017-18. He is tied for first among NHL defensemen in goals (15), second in points (44), second in average ice time (26:40) and is first in multipoint games (16). He has points in 18 of his last 21 games (11-22-33). ... Kirill Marchenko and Mason Marchment each have five goals in the last six games. ... Cole Sillinger has a 2-3-5 line in the last five games. ... Denton Mateychuk (2-7-9) and Damon Severson (1-7-8) have each topped a point per game in the last seven contests, while Mateychuk is plus-8 and Ivan Provorov is plus-5 in that span. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have scored 33 goals this season, the most in the NHL. … Goaltender Jet Greaves has a .922 save percentage in his last 12 appearances since the start of December. ... The Blue Jackets have killed 25 of 28 penalties (89.3 percent) over the last nine games. ... Werenski became the first CBJ player with 300 assists with the team Sunday, while Boone Jenner is three assists away from 200. ... With 402 career points, Jenner tied with Cam Atkinson for third in franchise history. He has a four-game point streak (1-3-4) and scored in each of the last four games vs. San Jose.

Know The Foe: San Jose Sharks

Head coach: Ryan Warsofsky (Second season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.05 (17th) | Scoring defense: 3.54 (31st) | PP: 18.8 percent (19th) | PK: 77.1 percent (25th)

The narrative: The Sharks made the playoffs all but two seasons from 1998-2019 but have paid the piper since, missing the playoffs six straight years. They’ve been truly dreadful the past three, totaling just 61 wins – four less than Boston had in 2022-23 alone – but the draft capital accumulated has started to pay off. San Jose in the mix in the Western Conference, two points behind the final wild card spot, as 2024 first overall pick Macklin Celebrini has emerged as a star while fellow top-10 picks William Eklund, Will Smith and Michael Misa are coming into their own as well.

Scoring leaders: Celebrini clearly had talent when he was taken first overall, but even the Sharks have to be thrilled with the astronomical leap he’s taken this year, as the 19-year-old was named to the Canadian Olympic team in the midst of a season in which his 22-41-63 line has him third in the league in points. Smith is no slouch, either, as Celebrini’s top running mate has a 12-17-29 line at 20 years old. Eklund (10-16-26), veteran Tyler Toffoli (10-16-26) and Alexander Wennberg (7-19-26) follow in scoring.

In net: A first-round pick in 2020 by Nashville, youngster Yaroslav Askarov is the team’s No. 1, posting a 15-10-1 record, 3.46 GAA and .894 save percentage. Ohio native Alex Nedeljkovic is 5-8-2 with a 3.14 GAA and .890 SV%.

What's new: The injury bug has hit hard in San Jose, as Smith is out with an upper body injury along with fellow forwards Philipp Kurashev and Adam Gaudette as well as defensemen John Klingberg, Vincent Desharnais and Shakir Mukhamadullin. The Sharks have been able to keep their heads above water – or perhaps below, since they are sea creatures – even amid the injuries, as they have rebounded from an 0-4-2 start to stick in the Western Conference race and have won three of the last four.

Trending: Columbus is 5-0-1 in the last six meetings, but the loss came in their last visit to the Shark Tank, as San Jose withstood 50 CBJ shots on goal to take a 2-1 overtime final Nov. 5 of last season.

Former CBJ: Now in his 12th NHL season, Wennberg signed a three-year contract extension Sunday and seems to have found a home in his second campaign in San Jose.