Werenski has goal, 2 assists for Blue Jackets in win against Blackhawks 

COLUMBUS – Zach Werenski had a goal and two assists for the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 5-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.

Werenski extended his home point streak to 22 games (14 goals, 27 assists), tying Phil Housley (1991-92) for the third-longest streak by a defenseman. Bobby Orr (1974-75) holds the record at 25 games.

It was a memorable homecoming for Werenski, who led all scorers at the 4 Nations Face-Off with six points (all assists) while helping the United States reach the final against Canada.

“A lot of energy mentally the last couple of weeks,” he said. “So, I slept good last night. I napped hard today. Could have napped forever it felt like.

“But we're in a great spot here. Since I got to the rink, I was ready to go and I dialed in and I thought our team did a good job of staying focused for the most part.”

Kent Johnson scored twice, Dmitri Voronkov had two assists, and Elvis Merzlikins made 27 saves for the Blue Jackets (27-22-8), who had lost four straight (0-3-1).

“We got two points but now we know we have to play a little bit better moving forward,” Werenski said.

Craig Smith scored, and Petr Mrazek made 16 saves for the Blackhawks (17-32-7), who have lost five of six (1-3-2).

“We had flashes of some decent hockey,” Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic said. “In the second period, we kind of jumped on them, but they're an opportunistic team and anytime we kind of fell asleep or made a mistake, they capitalized.

“Call it what you want for shaking off the rust, but I think they came ready to play so there's no excuses for us.”

Johnson gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead at 4:10 of the first period with a wrist shot from the high slot.

He then made it 2-0 on the power play at 1:12 of the second period, beating Mrazek with a wrist shot from above the right circle through Voronkov’s screen.

“I think we can still get going and get back into our game and be better, but it obviously feels nice when the puck is going,” Johnson said.

Merzlikins said it was difficult for him after the two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

“The game seemed really fast and we had really good three practices before here and it was just about trying to find the flow and get back in that way,” he said.

Smith cut it to 2-1 at 4:53, redirecting Vlasic’s shot past Merzlikins.

Denton Mateychuk carried the puck into the offensive zone and beat Mrazek with a wrist shot from the high slot to extend the lead to 3-1 at 12:42.

“It's frustrating, it's unacceptable, it's embarrassing,” Smith said. “To a certain point it's getting embarrassing, so we have to continue to dig deep.”

Werenski scored on a breakaway at 13:51 of the third period to make it 4-1.

“Impressed? 100 percent. Shocked? No,” Columbus coach Dean Evason said of Werenski’s performance. “He’s just such an incredible athlete. His engine and all the emotions that he went through the last few days. I'm sure such great highs, obviously, and then a very big low, and he just slides back in and goes about his business and helps his team have success here tonight.”

Adam Fantilli scored at the top of the crease for the 5-1 final at 14:44.

“In the third we made a push, (Merzlikins) made some big saves when it was 3-1 and then they come right back,” interim Blackhawks coach Anders Sorensen said. “They get the fourth one and the wind took out of our sails a little.”

NOTES: Werenski tied Rick Nash (39) for the most multiassist games in Blue Jackets history. … Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner assisted Werenski’s goal in his season debut after shoulder surgery on Oct. 9. Jenner played 16:56.