COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s been a long time since the Columbus Blue Jackets could flex their muscles against an inferior opponent. Forgive them if they didn’t handle it quite so well on Thursday.
James van Riemsdyk scored two goals, Kent Johnson had a goal and an assist, and Zach Werenski marched closer to an NHL record as the Blue Jackets made quick work of the rebuilding San Jose Sharks, winning 4-1 before 15,943 in Nationwide Arena.
That’s six straight wins, the Blue Jackets’ longest winning streak since Jan. 11-22, 2020. The victory allowed Columbus to leap the Boston Bruins and claim seventh place — the first wildcard — in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason has said he doesn’t often check the NHL standings. Regardless of whether you believe him, he speaks only for himself. After two seasons where the Blue Jackets hovered at the bottom of the league after an early settling, it’s safe to check the ledger again.
“I definitely look. It’s fun to look at it now,” Johnson said. “I didn’t look too much the last couple years. … It’s definitely a nice spot to be in. We just want to keep going.”
MO GETS THINGS STARTED!🚨@FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/no2dGHUnEj
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 17, 2025
Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins made 10 of his 18 saves in the third period. Perhaps the biggest development during the streak has been on the Blue Jackets’ end of the ice, where they’ve started to play the type of defense that allows them to win on nights when they aren’t scoring goals or playing particularly well.
The Jackets have allowed six goals in the last four games, the first time they’ve gone four straight games this season without allowing more than two goals. That’s allowed them to win four straight without No. 1 center Sean Monahan, who is out with a sprained right wrist.
“Everyone’s buying into our system, our structure,” Werenski said. “We have that winning feeling right now and that’s contagious in the room, all the little details that help teams win, especially in the defensive zone. We have buy-in right now, and everybody’s doing what they can to help the team win.”
Werenski’s first-period assist on an Adam Fantilli goal extended his home point streak to 18 games. Only four NHL defensemen in the 100-plus year history of the league — Bobby Orr (twice), Paul Coffey, Phil Housley, and Johnny van Boxmeer — have had longer streaks.
As Werenski was speaking with reporters in the post-game dressing room, forward Mathieu Olivier walked through the room and shouted: “Norris!” Consider that Olivier’s vote for Werenski to win the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman.
Werenski was asked about extending the streak, but he once again declined to play along.
“Honestly, I don’t want to talk about it,” he said. “It’s just one of those things where I’m going about my business, trying to help the team win and doing whatever I can to help.”
Zach Werenski assisted on the @BlueJacketsNHL’s 1-0 goal by Adam Fantilli and became the sixth defenseman in NHL history with an 18-game home point streak.#NHLStats: https://t.co/Px7DmZTdwl pic.twitter.com/dTEw0jKjDz
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 17, 2025
The Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead at 12:11 of the first period.
Werenski gained the offensive zone with speed and found Fantilli streaking down the slot toward Sharks goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. Fantilli, who moved up in the lineup in Monahan’s absence, made a nifty move at top speed to roof the puck for his 11th goal of the season.
Fantilli, only 20, has impressed Blue Jackets coaches for his ability to handle a top-six center’s spot, especially the defensive challenges it brings. But his offensive game is awakening now. He has a career-best seven-game point streak, totaling 4-4-8 in that stretch.
The Blue Jackets pushed the lead to 2-0 only four minutes later. Sean Kuraly’s forechecking dislodged a puck down low. He jumped on the turnover and found Johnson closing in on Georgiev, the puck trickling through the goalie’s pads and over the goal line.
It moved to 3-0 early in the second when van Riemsdyk, a master deflector, got the shaft of his stick on a Damon Severson shot, sending it down and past Georgiev. By now, the rout was on.
After two periods, the Blue Jackets had a 25-8 advantage in shots and a 47-26 edge in shot attempts.
If there was a blemish on the evening, it was the third period. The Sharks dominated puck possession and had most of the scoring chances, not to mention a huge edge in shot attempts: 31-14.
The Sharks pulled to 3-1 early in the third period. The Sharks are in the throes of rebuilding, probably two seasons behind the Blue Jackets in that messy process. If Columbus were playing a better opponent on Thursday, they may not have survived.
“What happened in the third period started on the last shift of the second, where we turned the puck back twice and took a penalty (Johnson for hooking),” Evason said. “We start the third period with two minutes in the box. They’re going to push.
“We did a good job of playing fairly well, but we challenged the guys after that … you can’t just stop and anticipate that it’s going to be over. Little plays like that (penalty late in the second) … they start the third with momentum, they score and now we’re in a heap of trouble, right? There’s a learning experience in there.”
van Riemsdyk’s second goal of the night — and eighth on the season — was an empty-net goal off a Kirill Marchenko feed with 2:01 remaining.
“We knew we wanted to come out strong and get a lead early and we did that,” Werenski said. “It kind of got a little sloppy in the third period, and we’d like to clean that up. But I thought for the most part we played a good hockey game.”
(Photo of Kirill Marchenko: Samantha Madar / USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images)
