The Hockey News Sunday Recap: Columbus Blue Jackets

NEWS & NOTES

Cannon City Quotables: Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Buffalo Sabres Blue Jackets silenced the Sabres’ win streak with a dominant 5-1 victory. Hear directly from the players who made it happen.

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Zach Werenski

• Credited the team’s success on the penalty kill to everyone being “on the same page,” which has cleared up earlier miscommunications.

• Noted that the PK unit is no longer “compounding mistakes,” allowing them to be more patient and effective.

• Felt that the penalty kill was a major reason the team was able to secure such a decisive 5-1 victory.

• Observed that the team has moved from reacting to opponents to being more aggressive and “dictating the pace” themselves.

• Highlighted the team’s depth, mentioning that having veteran players in bottom-six roles makes the group significantly stronger than last year.

• Expressed how “incredible” it was and what an “honor” it is to officially get the call to represent Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Energy Was The Theme for Last Night’s Loss, But Energy Can’t Be Taught The Blue Jackets lost to the Penguins last night 5-4 in overtime.

Zach Werenski said of energy, “I feel like energy can come from guys playing with confidence, making plays. It’s contagious. I don’t want to say get reckless with it, but we have a lot of guys who can make plays here, and sometimes when we get a lead, we just resort to almost playing too simple and just giving the puck to the other team, and obviously, good teams make you pay.”

Former Columbus Blue Jackets Defenseman Jack Johnson Has A New Job Johnson played 1,228 NHL games.

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Former Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson has officially retired from professional hockey and has been hired by the Vancouver Canucks to be a pro scout, the Canucks announced today.

Cannon City Quotables: Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Pittsburgh Penguins After a dominant win, the Blue Jackets battled the Penguins in a tense overtime loss. Hear players’ reactions to this critical Metro Division showdown.

Dean Evason – Head Coach

• Felt the team lost their grip on the game starting with the second goal they allowed.

• Pointed out that turning the puck over three times led directly to a goal in their net.

• Regretted giving the opposing team “life” with only three minutes left in the second period.

• Attributed the shift in momentum to “very unintelligent decisions” made by his players.

• Noted that once the other team had momentum, their “special players made special plays”.

• Described the start of the game as being as bad as the team has played all season.

• Nearly called a timeout early on but held off because the players were saying the right things on the bench.

• Clarified that the team’s drop in energy in the third period was mental rather than physical.

• Mentioned the team is in “fantastic shape,” but the mental grind of the game caught up to them.

• Felt the team “frustrated themselves” by not sticking to the disciplined, “boring” game plan that worked previously.

Columbus Blue Jackets Announce New VP of Hockey Operations The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that Laurence Gilman has been named the new Vice President of Hockey Operations. He will help Don Waddell in all aspects of the club’s hockey operations per a team statement. 

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that Laurence Gilman has been named the new Vice President of Hockey Operations. He will help Don Waddell in all aspects of the club’s hockey operations per a team statement.

Blue Jackets Sign Russian Defenseman Egor Zamula Per Elliotte Friedman, the Blue Jackets have signed defenseman Egor Zamula after he cleared waivers recently. 

The undrafted Zamula has played 168 NHL games and has 41 points for the Philadelphia Flyers.

“Egor is a mobile defenseman with good size who sees the ice well and can move the puck very efficiently. We are excited to have him join our hockey club,” said Don Waddell in a press release.

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He will sign a one-year deal, per his Agent, Dan Milstein. It will be a prorated 1-million-dollar deal.

Columbus Blue Jackets Mid-Season Stats Check In Dive into the Blue Jackets’ season halfway point. Unpack key team and player stats, and see if they can rally for a playoff push.

Points

1. Zach Werenski – 47 – 2nd among all NHL Defensemen

2. Kirill Marchenko – 33- 11 Power Play Points

Blue Jackets Place Mason Marchment On IR Marchment has 7 points in 7 games since being acquired by the Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed Mason Marchment on IR with an undisclosed upper-body injury, per the club. Assuming they make it retroactive to the 4th, he’ll miss all of their current four game road trip.

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Marchment was apparently injured in the game last weekend against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Yes, The Blue Jackets Should Keep Pulling Their Goalie It’s all the rage amongst Columbus Blue Jackets fans to argue against pulling their goalie late in the game in an attempt to score. Some say it’s pointless. Some say it Evason does it too early. Some say he does it too late. Is there a right answer? Yes there is. 

It’s all the rage amongst Columbus Blue Jackets fans to argue against pulling their goalie late in the game in an attempt to score. Some say it’s pointless. Some say it Evason does it too early. Some say he does it too late. Is there a right answer? Yes, there is.

From THN’s Archive: Nash’s Sidekick Is On The Way Long existing gaps in Columbus lineup ready to be filled by young talent

Blue Jackets’ Brendan Smith Undergoes Surgery On Knee Defenseman Brendan Smith’s season ends early with successful knee surgery. A three-to-four-month recovery is expected following the procedure.

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Defenseman Brendan Smith’s season ends early with successful knee surgery. A three-to-four-month recovery is expected following the procedure.

Former Blue Jacket Forward Nets First Career Hat Trick Over Old Friend Sergei Bobrovsky Former <a href=”http://thn.com/columbus”>Columbus Blue Jackets</a> forward&nbsp;and current <a href=”http://thn.com/montreal”>Montreal Canadien</a> Alex Texier, had himself a night last night in a 6-2 win over the <a href=”http://thn.com/florida”>Florida Panthers</a>.&nbsp;

Texier was able to net his first career hat trick in his 262nd NHL game, scoring his third goal with just 50 seconds left in the game to power the Canadiens past the visiting Panthers.

Cannon City Quotables: Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Vegas Golden Knights Blue Jackets squandered a two-goal lead, falling 5-3 to Vegas. Now, a daunting road trip continues against league-leading Colorado.

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GAME PREVIEWS & RECAPS

Blue Jackets Blow Three Goal Lead, Fall To Pittsburgh In OT The Blue Jackets’ record now stands at 18-17-6 with 43 points.

Dmitri Voronkov(15), Mason Marchment(9), Kirill Marchenko(15), and Zach Werenski(15) scored the goals for the CBJ, while Jet Greaves could only stop 38 of the Pens’ 43 shots in a 5-4 overtime loss.

This was embarrassing. There’s really no other way to put it.

Having a 4-1 lead with 39 minutes to play should be almost an automatic win. But if you’ve watched the Blue Jackets play this season, you know that anything other than having a lead when the final buzzer sounds, isn’t automatic.

Columbus Blue Jackets (43 pts) vs. San Jose Sharks (43 pts) Game Preview Columbus is 29-34-0-6 all-time, and 10-21-0-3 on the road in San Jose.

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Series History vs. The Sharks

• Columbus is 29-34-0-6 all-time, and 10-21-0-3 on the road in San Jose.

• The Jackets are 9-3-1 in the last 13 games, and 5-0-1 in the last 6.

• The Blue Jackets are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games at SAP Center.

Macklin Celebrini & The Sharks Beat Frustrated Blue Jackets The Blue Jackets record now stands at 18-17-7 with 43 points.

Zach Werenski(16) and Sean Monahan(6) scored the only goals for Columbus, and Jet Greaves stopped 31 of 34 Sharks shots, including 10 of 11 of the Sharks five power plays, as the Blue Jackets would lose to San Jose 5-2. 

Columbus Blue Jackets (43 pts) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (48 pts) Game Preview Columbus is 7-7-1 all-time, and 3-4-0 on the road in Vegas.

Blue Jackets Start Hot, But Can’t Stop The Vegas Train In 5-3 Loss The Blue Jackets record now stands at 18-18-7 with 43 points.

Columbus Blue Jackets (43 pts) vs. Colorado Avalanche (71 pts) Game Preview The<a href=”http://thn.com/columbus” target=”_blank”>&nbsp;Columbus Blue Jackets</a>&nbsp;are on the road to take on the <a href=”http://thn.com/colorado”>Colorado Avalanche</a>&nbsp;today at 4 PM Eastern.&nbsp;

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