Winning Thoughts: Blue Jackets think they can build on a debut victory

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

BLUE JACKETS 5, FLAMES 3

1. Rick Bowness’ debut as Blue Jackets head coach brought a jolt of energy to the team.

It’s hard to imagine much more of a whirlwind than what Bowness and the Blue Jackets went through over the last 48 hours.

President of hockey operations and general manager Don Waddell reached Bowness late Monday morning asking if he would take over as the team’s head coach, and by Tuesday evening, the longest-tenured head or assistant coach in NHL history was standing in the CBJ dressing room getting ready to lead his team into a game for the first time.

Addressing his players before they took the ice, Bowness laid out what he’s asking for. It was a simple request – not that there was much time for anything else, considering how new he is to the situation.

“Listen, we will give you the details,” Bowness said. “You bring the compete, we’ll bring the rest.”

After the 5-3 win over the Flames, Bowness thought the Blue Jackets did just that. He may still be learning names and faces and styles of play – and his players are still learning exactly what the Bowness experience is like – but in game one, the coach got what he wanted.

“We asked them to compete, and we did,” Bowness said. “We competed. We played very well. ... The one thing we’ve told them, the coaches’ job is to give them the structure, give them the details. Their job is to come and compete, and my eyes told me tonight they competed very hard.”

Time will tell whether it will be enough to lift the Blue Jackets back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, though the second straight victory did pull the team out of the conference cellar and to within six points of the final wild card spot.

But that’s a big picture discussion, and Tuesday was all about getting to know each other and putting two points on the board. After laying out at his introductory press conference what he wants – a team that plays fast, a team that cleans up the defensive miscues that have plagued it, a team that competes – Bowness saw a lot to like about his team in game one.

From the player side, it’s still a bit of an adjustment, but at least they’ll go into Wednesday’s first full practice feeling good about how game one went.

“It’s a quick turnaround to play, really no time to spare, so you want to learn about each other as quickly as you can and what he expects of us and the other way around,” Charlie Coyle said. “It’s always nice when it goes your way, you get the win right away and everyone feels good. And then you move forward, learn some things and then we go on to the next one.”

2. Boone Jenner and the team’s veterans helped lead the way in the victory.

With the score tied at 3 in the final two minutes, the Blue Jackets needed a hero, and who better than the captain on a day like this?

Jenner’s goal with 1:34 remaining was the difference, as Kent Johnson forced a turnover with a strong forecheck and the longest-tenured Blue Jacket made no mistake with his shot over the glove of Calgary goalie Dustin Wolf.

Add in a second-period fight and an assist on Coyle’s empty-net goal, and Jenner completed the Gordie Howe hat trick.

“That’s the Boone Jenner I remember coaching against for a long time,” Bowness said with a smile postgame. “I love watching him play. I’m glad I’m coaching him because he’s a hard guy to play against.”

Jenner was far from the only veteran to help lead the way on the night. Coyle finished with two goals and an assist – plus two massive screens in front of Wolf that played major parts in goals – while Zach Werenski had a goal and two assists to run his home point streak to 15 games.

“We're the leaders on the team. We have to drive play and drag guys into the fight and be the example,” Jenner said. “We want to turn this around too, and we want to lead the way. I think a lot of guys stepped up tonight – Charlie and Z and a lot of guys throughout the whole lineup. It was a team effort, and we’re going to need that going forward.”

Jenner’s game-winning goal was the third of his career that came in the final two minutes of a game the team won in regulation. And about that Gordie Howe – as surprising as it might be for a player who combines Jenner’s scoring abilities and physical play, but it was the first of his career.

“I think that’s my first one,” he said postgame. “I’m not sure. I think so.

“I thought you would know,” he added with a laugh.

3. There’s a long road ahead, but the Blue Jackets think they can build on the win.

Of course, things were far from perfect in this one. Were it not for three power-play goals allowed to the Flames, the Blue Jackets might have pulled away easily given how they controlled the puck at 5-on-5, but that gives the team something to work on when they get back to practice Wednesday.

Bowness spoke of limiting goals and chances against in his introductory press conference Tuesday afternoon, so the PK struggles will likely be in his crosshairs as he looks ahead. The Blue Jackets also saw another third-period lead go by the wayside when Calgary countered Werenski’s third-period power-play goal with one of their own, but it least it didn’t end up burning them in the end.

All in all, though, Bowness saw reason for optimism in his first game behind the bench.

“I thought the areas that I see that are causing us trouble, I know we can address and I know we can fix,” he said.

The coach added there was only one factor that caused him to get animated on the bench as the game went on.

“I got after them because I hate playing slow,” he said. “I hate playing slow. And there were times I thought we could have moved the puck a lot quicker, and that’s when I got after them. You can’t play fast if you’re hanging on to the puck. That puck has to move. That guy gets it, he’s gotta move his feet or he’s gotta move (the puck), and then you can play fast.”