Bowness instilling confidence in red-hot Blue Jackets

CHICAGO -- Rick Bowness has gotten the Columbus Blue Jackets back on track.

Since replacing Dean Evason as coach on Jan. 12, Columbus has gone 7-1-0 under Bowness, and one key reason for that has been because of what the 71-year-old has been able to instill in his new team: confidence.

“They’re starting to see what we look like when we’re playing well, and that’s important,” Bowness said prior to the Blue Jackets’ 4-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Friday.

“They know our strengths, they know the things we’ll continue to work on and pound on, but they’re seeing it on the ice because I hear the comments on the bench. I hear them talking on the bench. So, they’re starting to realize what we look like when we’re playing well.”

The Blue Jackets (26-20-7), who have won four in a row, are currently eight points behind the Boston Bruins, who have played two more games, for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They will look to continue their postseason push when they visit the St. Louis Blues (20-25-9) at Enterprise Center on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNMW, FDSNOH).

Aside from its record, though, Columbus' improvement has been evident.

At the time Evason was fired, the Blue Jackets ranked 22nd in goals per game (2.91), 28th in goals allowed per game (3.38) and 30th in shots against per game (30.9). In the eight games since Bowness took over, they rank sixth in goals per game (3.88), tied for 10th in goals against per game (2.63) and 20th in shots against per game (28.3).

“The main focus was taking care of our net,” Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner said. “We were giving up too many shots against and rushes against, and things like that are going to hurt you.

“I mean, the numbers are what they are. It’s going to be tough to get wins in this league consistently. It’s just the details on the defensive side of the puck and how we can play more with the puck. That was the main focus, and we’re trying to build off that.”

It helps, too, that the Blue Jackets have scored first in seven of the eight games Bowness has coached.

“I think playing from behind, you can kind of sometimes end up chasing the game a little bit. So I feel for us, to get in front, just establish our game, get to the game we want to play, I feel like maybe we haven’t done that enough this year,” defenseman Zach Werenski said. “We’ve been doing it as of late, and it’s a big reason why we’re having success.”

General manager Don Waddell has also seen individual improvements, including from forward Kent Johnson, who has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 51 games after he had 57 points (24 goals, 33 assists) in 68 games last season.

“He’s been in a slump this year," Waddell told 97.1 The Fan in Columbus on Friday. "The last couple of weeks before Rick took over, [Johnson] was playing on the fourth line with 10 minutes of ice time. For a player that age (23), it’s hard to get out of any kind of slump when you’re playing limited minutes and not playing in key situations. Rick’s given him that opportunity.

“I know [Johnson] hasn’t scored as much as he’d like to score, but he’s had great chances. He’s creating a lot, he’s playing the game differently than he was. He’s playing a lot harder. That doesn’t mean he’s going to kill anybody, but he’s been a more effective player, a 200-foot player, than he was before.”

Waddell added that forwards Kirill Marchenko and Adam Fantilli were also playing, “with great confidence right now.” Marchenko has 45 points (19 goals, 26 assists) in 49 games, which is second on the team behind Werenski (59 points). Fantilli is fourth on the Blue Jackets with 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) in 53 games.

“We’ve changed a few things in our approach to the game, how we’re preparing, our systems, a few minor tweaks. The way [Bowness] has been communicating with everybody has been great,” Fantilli said. “Everyone knows exactly what’s expected of them. It makes it a lot easier for guys out there to keep it black and white instead of finding gray areas.”

The Blue Jackets have no doubt made great strides under Bowness, but getting back to the postseason for the first time since 2019-20 remains the big goal.

“We haven’t done anything yet and you can never forget that. We haven’t done anything," Bowness said. "Yeah, we’ve won a few games. So what? We’re still chasing.

“You never lose that hunger to understand where we are and what we have to do to keep going forward. We’re not patting ourselves on the back by any stretch of the imagination, and we have no reason to. When you keep pushing and get that X by your name that you’re in (qualified for the playoffs), then you can take a little bit of a breath.”