SvoNotes: A season opener the Blue Jackets will never forget

There have been big wins in Nationwide Arena before. They've been played before buzzing crowds, and there have been a fair share of emotional moments in the downtown barn as well.
But it's fair to say there has never quite been a night like Thursday for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

After 18 months of a global pandemic, a full house was welcomed back and celebrated like they meant it. At the same time, there was the somber, emotional tribute to the late Matiss Kivlenieks, with teammates, family and The 5th Line getting a chance to publicly commemorate the life of the goalie who died tragically this summer.
It was such a combination of emotions that it would have been easy to forget there actually was a game to play, but whether it was through divine intervention or simply motivation, Columbus drubbed Arizona by an 8-2 to score to post the biggest victory in a season opener in franchise history.
"It was a special night," said head coach Brad Larsen, who earned his first win as an NHL boss. "It was a strange night in a lot of ways. There was a lot of exciting things with the fans back. We had talked about that and the energy from that, and then seeing Matiss' family, that's tough on a lot of guys. We talked yesterday as a group about the things we may go through."
And in the end, while Columbus dominated on the scoreboard, the team's performance left something to be desired to the head coach. At 5-on-5, Arizona finished with edges of 63-36 in shot attempts, 38-18 in scoring chances and 2.79-1.31 in expected goals, yet the final was 8-2.
That means the Coyotes had the puck a lot more than the Jackets -- it was also spurred on by the fact Arizona was throwing the kitchen sink at Columbus trying to come back -- but it also speaks to the edge provided by the CBJ power play (2-for-3) and Elvis Merzlikins (36 saves while wearing Kivlenieks' No. 80).

"You gotta be careful because I don't think we played that well," said Larsen, who added he noticed mistakes out of his team he hadn't seen all preseason. "Really, I don't. We found ways to score, and that's awesome. We have such a better game in us, but I'm not here to criticize the guys.
"I don't know how to explain it. I've never been part of an 8-2 game like that. We've won 3-2, the goalie made 50 saves, something strange like that, but 8-2? Everything was just going in at the right time, and Elvis was great. Happy to win. Obviously happy for the guys to win, happy for Elvis, Matiss' family, everybody involved, the fans, they're having a blast. You score eight goals at home, that's fine. Everybody's having a riot there. But we have a lot of work to do here tomorrow."
But if there is a comforting thought to take from the result, it's that the Blue Jackets didn't play one of their best games and still scored eight goals for just the sixth time in team history.
Columbus has had trouble putting the puck in the net the past few years -- the 2.39 goals per game last year was third worst in the league, and the Jackets were fourth worst at 2.57 two years ago -- so to see them go in early confirmed this could very well be a team that can light up the scoreboard every so often.
"I think it's great for confidence," said Oliver Bjorkstrand, who had his first-ever four-point night with two goals and two assists. "It was a little bit of a weird night. It felt like they had the puck tonight. We just scored a lot of goals and finished it off at the right time. It's very positive we were able to put the puck in the net."

Hello, Sillinger

The only thing he might have been missing was the rookie lap.
CBJ rookie Cole Sillinger made his debut count Thursday night, as just the sixth 18-year-old to see the ice in franchise history -- and first in more than a decade -- notched his first career assist, took his first career penalty, won four of five faceoffs and played 13:37 in the victory.
So, Cole, did it live up to the hype?
"For sure it did," he said. "Everything I expected and even more."

That's probably exactly how the Blue Jackets would describe Sillinger as well. The team was ecstatic when he was available with the 12th overall pick in July's draft, as the center boasted a strong two-way game and was thought to be a slam-dunk pro by just about everyone going into the draft.
But I'm not sure how many people expected that future to be now, but Sillinger broke down the door with his preseason play, showing he belongs. As we noted, it's rare air -- the last 18-year-old to play for the Jackets right out of the draft was Nikita Filatov in 2008, and he only got eight games that year -- but Sillinger appears to be someone who can take it all in stride and is mature beyond his years both on and off the ice.
Does that come from growing up around the game, as Sillinger's father, Mike, was a longtime NHLer who skated with Columbus as part of his 12-team, 17-year career? (Fun fact: Cole actually was born in the capital city.) Or is it just something natural, something extra, that Cole somehow possesses?
We decided to ask Mike, who was more than accommodating with interview requests as he watched last night in Nationwide Arena, about that very subject.
"I think it's natural," the elder Sillinger said. "He's a very smart kid. He's been in this hockey environment, he's been in this competitive environment. He knows nothing more than to compete and always be the best he can be. I think that's why he's mature behind his years. He's 18, but age is just a number."
One of the fun things about the sport of hockey is that no matter where you're from or who you are, a hockey dad is a hockey dad. When Mike isn't golfing, he now spends a lot of his time traveling North America to see his sons play -- Cole's brothers Lukas and Owen are at Bemidji State -- and the pride he has as a parent is the same as any other's even though Mike spent all that time in the league.
"The experience is a special time for (wife) Karla and myself," he said. "We as parents are supportive of Cole. We didn't know if he was going to be in this situation or not as far as being able to play in the opening game or make the lineup. We kept saying, 'Day by day, day by day.' We knew that he is a very driven kid and he's determined. He's focused. He has that drive.
"We knew when he left Regina that he had a chance to actually make the team, and the whole thing is as parents you just kind of have to let him go. That's what we did, and now we are here six weeks later, so for us it's so enjoyable."

Welcome Back

Day one season ticket holder Ed Hollern thought he was making a good investment many moons ago when he bought a white CBJ jersey with the No. 93 and the name Voracek on it.
After all, Jakub Voracek was taken seventh overall by Columbus in the 2007 draft -- the one held in Nationwide Arena -- and it looked like he'd be a piece of the franchise for a long time. Then came the ill-fated 2011 trade that sent Voracek to Philadelphia for Jeff Carter, a deal that failed on the ice and also made that sweater a bit obsolete.
Until now, that is. Voracek was reacquired this summer after 10 years with the Flyers, and for game one, Hollern was able to put the No. 93 back on and root for the Czech forward in person.
"He was a No. 1 draft pick," Hollern said when asked why he got the jersey all those years ago. "I was a big fan of his when he was a rookie, and we're very excited to have him back. I still wore the jersey, but I didn't think I'd have the chance to wear it again when he was here."
Voracek's return was a good one, as he chipped in two assists in the victory, and there was a smattering of fans wearing the No. 93 around the arena. Told the day before the game that some fans would be going deep into the closet to find their old jerseys, Voracek couldn't help but laugh.
"Hopefully they washed them once in a while," he said. "I mean, 10 years..."
When told of that comment, Hollern said Voracek didn't have to worry about his sweater.
"I've kept it in great shape, absolutely."

Stats and Facts

There were a number of pretty wild numbers to come out of the win. Here's a few that stand out.
- Alexandre Texier didn't score in the last 42 games of last season, but needed just 40 seconds to score in the opener this year. What a weird sport, right? Incidentally, it was the second fastest goal in a season opener in CBJ history, as Geoff Sanderson needed just 31 seconds to score in 2001. - On Tuesday, Boone Jenner was named the seventh team captain in franchise history, while Bjorkstrand, Zach Werenski and Gustav Nyquist were announced as alternate captains. All four scored a goal in the opener, which is pretty crazy if you think about it. - Jake Bean became the 22nd player to score a goal in his CBJ debut, with the last coming on Feb. 20, 2020, when Stefan Matteau tallied against Philadelphia. Bean's plus-3 was also a record for a CBJ debut. - Going into the game, 299 players had ever skated for the union blue in NHL competition, and five players made their team debuts last night to push the number to 304. The newbies were Sillinger, Bean, Sean Kuraly, Adam Boqvist and Gregory Hofmann. Sillinger and Boqvist both started the game, so perhaps they can both claim to be Mr. 300. - Both Kuraly and Andrew Peeke -- who seems to have reinvented himself as a take-no-crap toughman -- took fighting majors, Kuraly for dancing with Ryan Dzingel in the second period and Peeke for going with Lawson Crouse in the third. The last time Columbus had two fighting majors in a game? Last year's Jan. 18 contest in Detroit in the third game of the season. - It was the ninth win in 21 tries in team history in a season opener, as Columbus improved to 9-10-2 in such games. Columbus also improved to 9-2-0 vs. Arizona in the last 11 games in the series. - With the game pretty well secured late, no one had to play big minutes on the blue line. Werenski skated just 20:43, and Peeke actually led the way in ice time with 21:52.

Parting Quotes

Pregame, Bjorkstrand told Bally Sports' Dave Maetzold on the blue carpet that he wanted to hear some noise out of the CBJ fans. Postgame, it was mission accomplished. "Hearing the fans, The 5th Line back, the atmosphere was awesome," Bjorkstrand said. "I think they were ready for it. It sounded that way, at least."
Domi wasn't even expected to play at the start of the season after shoulder surgery this summer, but he rehabbed like a maniac and was all over the place in the opener, finishing with a goal and two assists. When asked how happy he was to be back, Domi said, "I have the best job in the world, playing in the NHL. No offense to you guys. I'm sure you guys like your job, too. I might be biased, but playing in the NHL is a huge privilege and definitely an honor. I'm just trying to enjoy every single moment, every single day."