Winning Thoughts: Marchenko's return boosts Blue Jackets

After CBJ wins, we'll give three takeaways about what stood out or what we'll remember from the Blue Jackets' victory.

BLUE JACKETS 6, RED WINGS 5 (SHOOTOUT)

1. Kirill Marchenko’s return brought a jolt of energy to the Blue Jackets lineup.

Simply put, there’s only one Marchy. He’s worked himself into being one of the premier players in the game, a combination of skill, size and speed that makes him one of the best all-around players in the league. But there’s also an X-factor there, a mojo that makes him an integral part of the team on the bench and in the locker room.

That was missing when Marchenko was out for the last four games with a lower-body injury, but he announced his return with authority Thursday night. Marchenko scored a power-play goal and ended things in the shootout with another tally, and the Blue Jackets had a 21-10 edge in shot attempts at 5-on-5 with Marchenko on the ice.

“I have a little vacation (when) I was injured,” Marchenko joked postgame. “I have energy, have power, and (am) happy to win. ... I personally am happy to come back and play with my guys, this team, and just try to enjoy this moment. It’s a good win tonight.”

Marchenko continued his point-per-game pace on the season, as he now has nine goals and 14 assists in the 23 games he’s played. It didn’t take long for him to show he was back, immediately boosting the team’s offense on the top line with Adam Fantilli and Dmitri Voronkov.

“He gave us a boost – not just his skill set but his work ethic,” head coach Dean Evason said. “He seemed really fresh. Obviously you don’t want people to get injured, but maybe the break allowed him to get a second wind here to move forward. So yeah, he definitely provided us with some life and some jump in all areas.”

2. The Blue Jackets have a pretty good trump card in their pocket when they go to a shootout.

No one on the team will say they want to get that far – they'd rather pocket the two points in regulation – but the talent on the CBJ roster makes going to the skills competition a pretty enticing proposition.

Columbus improved to 4-1 on the year in shootouts after goals from Kent Johnson and Marchenko, and it’s hard to see why. Johnson is now 3-for-4 on the year in the one-on-one battle, while Marchenko is a perfect 5-for-5.

“Confidence comes from KJ and Marchy scoring every time,” Fantilli said afterward.

Both of those shooters used their patented moves yet again to score past Detroit goalie Cam Talbot. Johnson has a couple of moves he feels comfortable with, but his patented play is to curl in from the right of the net, deke from his forehand to his backhand and then roof a shot before the goalie can react.

“I’ve done that a few times,” Johnson acknowledged afterward. “Obviously I have a couple other ones I’ve done, too, but it felt good to get that.”

Marchenko’s signature shot, meanwhile, is a mix of the obvious and subtle. He beat Talbot five-hole just as he has every other goalie this season, so goalies know it’s coming, but his lightning-quick release is timed so well that the Detroit goalie barely even moved before the puck was by him.

“I just close my eyes,” he said. “Guys, I did the exact same move, exactly, every time. I just go and do my stuff, that’s it. I don’t think much. ... I don’t have another move, I just have one move. If goalies start to read it, I stop to score.”

Hopefully no goalies in the upcoming CBJ schedule are reading this.

3. Seeing Johnson and Sean Monahan on the score sheet is a good sign for the Blue Jackets.

The Blue Jackets have struggled to score goals at times this year, and the prolonged scoring droughts of two of their key offensive players had a big part in that.

Monahan had just two goals in the first 24 games, but the veteran center seems to have found his scoring touch. After posting three goals in the past two games, he added three assists in the win over the Red Wings to stay hot.

Johnson hadn’t scored for 19 games before finally getting off the schneid against Detroit, following a Cole Sillinger shot to the net and putting the rebound home. After the puck crossed the line, Johnson screamed and pumped both fists as the frustration left his body.

The talented forward coming off a career-best 24-goal, 57-point season said he’s been trying to keep his confidence high and had faith the offense would come, but he acknowledged finally seeing one go in won’t hurt.

“Yeah, it can definitely help,” he said. “I try not to think of it mentally like I needed that, but it definitely doesn’t hurt. I think you’re feeling good after that.”

Evason said the coaching staff had a postgame chat about Johnson’s game and felt they’re seeing some good things out of the talented wing.

“We just had a brief talk about his game and what he’s trying to do and how he’s trying to do it, and yeah, it’s nice for sure,” Evason said. "It’s nice for him to score because now he feels good. They’re a close group, right? They know when guys are pressing a little bit, so yeah, for him to score for his team was great.”