It's early, but the games aren't worth any less when all is said and done.
Off to a 7-3-0 start, the Columbus Blue Jackets will play three games in four nights at Nationwide Arena, and all three are against teams that boast a winning record. It will be the toughest three-game stretch Columbus has had so far this season.
The four-night affair begins Friday with Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. The Capitals have points in ten of 12 games (6-2-4) this season, and Ovechkin is the league-leader in goals. If Chinakhov and Sillinger are on the top pairing again, they'll certainly see at least some time on ice against one of the best scorers in NHL history, even if head coach Brad Larsen bumps some of the matchups around to protect them.
Much like the Blue Jackets first extended road trip of the season, which was also three games, the record at the conclusion will be key. Columbus won two of three that time around. This time around, winning two of three would put the Blue Jackets at 9-4-0. That looks and sounds significantly better than, say, 7-5-1, which would be their record if they go 0-2-1 at Nationwide Arena this weekend.
Saturday marks a chance for some early-season revenge against the New York Rangers. In one of Columbus' worst showings of the season, the Rangers jumped on the Blue Jackets early en route to a 4-0 shutout.
A second chance for revenge comes Monday. That's when the Blue Jackets get another crack at the Detroit Red Wings, who handed Columbus a 4-1 defeat for their first loss of the season. Much like the Blue Jackets, the Red Wings have exceeded all expectations so far in what was supposed to be a rough season. They're off to 7-5-2 start and in second place in the Atlantic Division - a division that includes Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Boston.
A win Friday would give the Blue Jackets something they haven't had since January of 2020: a four-game winning streak. Columbus did not put more than three wins in a row together during the shortened 2020-21 season, and in fact, never won more than two in a row during the 56-game sprint.
Regardless of whether or not they walk away with two points Friday, it's an important stretch of games for the Blue Jackets, are in the midst of a stretch that sees them play just once over eight days. That one game — a come-from-behind win Saturday over the Colorado Avalanche for the second straight game — was Columbus' first without star winger Patrik Laine, who is out until December with an oblique injury.
In his place Saturday was 20-year-old Yegor Chinakhov, who had just five games under his belt prior to the weekend promotion. He joined 18-year-old Cole Sillinger and the ancient-by-comparison Jakub Voracek on the Blue Jackets top line. Chinakhov had a pair of assists, including picking up the first helper on Sillinger's game-winning goal with just over a minute left.
The question now becomes this: was the young top pairing a benefit of beginners luck, or did the 5th Line get their first taste of something special?
