After CBJ wins, we'll give three takeaways about what stood out or what we'll remember from the Blue Jackets victory.
RECAP: Blue Jackets 4, Sharks 1
1. Defense has helped the Jackets win pivotal games.
Before tonight, Feb. 4-10, 2020, was the last time the Blue Jackets had given up two goals or fewer in four consecutive games.
Their team defense has been a large factor in their current six-game win streak and their rise up the NHL standings. The kicker? They have done this with three different starting goaltenders and a defenseman who has just 11 games in the National Hockey League under his belt.
After having to make just 18 saves in the win over San Jose, Elvis Merzlikins is a believer that this is the best team defense he has had in front of him in many years.
“Yes, absolutely, I would say so," he said. "Not just (the defensemen). I mean, even like (Dmitri Voronkov's) last shot block and then put the stick on there. We are all doing our job right now, and it's amazing, and I'm really thankful for them.”
The goaltending has been impressive of late for the Blue Jackets, but in this game it took until the third period for Merzlikins to face his 10th shot against. The team in front of him did its part, finishing with 23 blocked shots.
“I think, sure, the goalies are obviously a big part of it, but it's our mentality of trying to keep the puck out of our net,” head coach Dean Evason said.
For a team that is top five in the NHL in goals scored, they have turned a focus on making their goaltenders look good, and it has turned into wins as a result.
“I feel like we just have collective buy-in right now, and guys are doing whatever it takes to help the team win,” defenseman Zach Werenski said.
2. Winning is fun.
The word fun has echoed through the CBJ locker room of late, and especially after the win tonight. As it appears, when you are able to win hockey games and make people talk about your team, things can be pretty enjoyable.
“We've been having a lot of fun here," Werenski said. "Everyone's playing the right way, just whenever they can in order to help the team win. And like when you're doing that, you're winning games and having success."
Their success can be attributed to many factors, but like Werenski said, the team has been playing the right way and relying on each other, which has made the team closer. In return, their chemistry grows by the day.
“Winning is fun," Merzlikins said. "It's nice. I feel we are really close to each other. It's fun to come in the morning here and have practice and hang out together."
As the team wins more and more, the Blue Jackets have shot up the NHL standings. After the win against San Jose, they now sit in the first wild card spot and are just five points back of Carolina, who they face Jan. 23 during this upcoming road trip, for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
“I think we're confident that any night, we can give ourselves a chance to win," Kent Johnson said. "So yeah, that's the biggest thing. And it's definitely fun."
Now that the Jackets sit firmly in the playoff race, some players have started to look at the standings so they know who to root for across the league each night.
“Personally, I definitely look (at the standings)," Johnson said. "It's fun to look at it now. I didn't look too much the last couple years. It’s good. It's just cool that you can be in a spot where you're rooting for or against teams.”
3. The Blue Jackets have scored first a league-leading 28 times.
Getting on the board first is important for the Blue Jackets; luckily for them, they are the best in the league at doing so.
After Adam Fantilli scored the opening goal in the first period tonight, Columbus is now 18-6-4 when it gets the game’s first goal. Without it? The Jackets are 4-11-2.
“The start is always important, especially at home,” Johnson said. “You want to get on them and establish that. So, yeah, a huge start for us.”
The Blue Jackets extended the lead to 2-0 after the first period and 3-0 after the second, leaving the Sharks a big hill to climb. When the Blue Jackets traveled to San Jose earlier this season, they failed to score first, which ultimately resulted in them dropping that game by a 2-1 score in overtime.
For the rematch, they knew they wanted to come in and get that early lead.
“We knew tonight we were wanting to come out strong and get a lead early, and we did that,” Werenski said.
An emphasis on that early goal has also helped get the team engaged from the first period, something they were struggling with at times at the beginning of this season.
“Hopefully we can score the first in every game, but it's been good so far doing that,” Werenski said.