That was better.
It's the preseason, but if Wednesday night was any indication, the Columbus Blue Jackets could be a team on the rise in 2024-25.
After falling 6-1 in Monday's exhibition opener in Buffalo to the Sabres, the Blue Jackets were dominate from start to finish against the St. Louis Blues in the first home preseason game.
The reason for optimism goes beyond the score, though. Here are four takeaways from the 3-0 shutout win over the Blues:
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| Blue Jackets 3, Blues 0 |
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Kent Johnson has made Marathon-esque strides from last season. He was the best player on the ice Wednesday night — on either team. There was confidence, there was smart decision making, and there was a sense that he was in control of the ice with and without the puck. He had the primary assist on Denton Mateychuk's first-period goal (more on him in a moment), and the empty-net goal to seal the game was well-deserved. His condition was evident, too: 18:34 of ice time was the most he's seen since the 2022-23 season. As teammate Sean Kuraly put it: "You guys saw it for the first time with all the lights tonight. We've been seeing that for a couple weeks." This could be a breakout season for Johnson.
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The Blue Jackets are going to have a decision to make with Denton Mateychuk. Yes, he scored, but it's got nothing to do with that. The 20-year-old defender looks the part of a soon-to-be top pairing defenseman at the NHL level. Like Johnson, Mateychuk was playing with confidence and making the correct split-second decisions. He was a toss-up to make the opening night roster and it seemed like Cleveland would be his home base this fall, but he's making a case to be a kid you have to keep in the capital city.
Can't talk, we're busy rewatching Mateychuk's goal @FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/B5OCEWvdXt
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) September 26, 2024 -
Props to Elvis Merzlikins; who stopped all 19 St. Louis shots in the first two periods before giving way to Zach Sawchenko for the third period (as was the plan). There's no point in rehashing what the last few years have been like for Elvis, but stopping every shot that was fired his way Wednesday night is a step (the first of several needed) in the right direction for the Columbus netminder.
- For the first time since John Tortorella, the Blue Jackets have a legitimate, experienced NHL coach in Dean Evason — and it shows. Johnson, Mateychuk, Merzlikins (and others) were playing with confidence that just didn't exist in the past. Evason has also overachieved as a coach, getting more out of his team's than expected —and the early returns are a hint that he could do that again this season.
