Blue Jackets Are A Breath Of Fresh Air, A Fun Change Of Pace

Sometimes you can feel it when a team begins to figure it out. The small stuff starts to add up and the confidence is there.

Players will always talk about what they must do to win games. We've heard it for years from players across all teams in all sports.

But there's essentially delusion versus what's real. This team must feel pretty good because they display what we see. Head coach Dean Evason said it himself. His team has a chance to win every single night.

Dean Evason postgame: "But more importantly, they know when they come in the dressing room every night for a game, we have a chance to win. We have a chance to win every single night. That's what I think is exciting for this group." #CBJ

— Mark Scheig (@mark_scheig) January 5, 2025

Columbus has done a lot of that lately.

Occupying the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot and only trailing the Boston Bruins by one point for the top spot, Columbus is the hottest team in the Metropolitan Division with a 7-2-1 record in its last 10. They are on a season-high four-game winning streak following Saturday's season series sweep of the St. Louis Blues 2-1.

Evason has preached 'team' since day one, and any time he's asked about individual performances, he quickly steers the conversation back to a team-first element. That type of game was on full display Saturday night. Columbus had 23 blocked shots, and Jet Greaves nearly came away with his first career shutout before a power-play goal by Colton Parayko spoiled the bid at 19:48.

"It's a team game, right?" Evason said after Saturday's win. "Everybody's buying in to do the right things and keep the puck out of the net. We've talked a lot about our road record and getting out here. We did a lot of things to play a sound defensive hockey game."

Before Saturday's game on FanDuel Sports Network, data scientist and hockey analyst Meghan Chayka of Stathletes talked with Brian Giesenschlag and explained key metrics behind the Blue Jackets' success this season.

Data scientist and hockey analyst Meghan Chayka explains the metrics behind the success for the Blue Jackets so far this season and why they have been "one of the biggest surprises".

Watch the full interview in the FanDuel Sports Network app.#CBJ | @MeghanChayka pic.twitter.com/qQpy7k7I3Z

— FanDuel Sports Network Columbus (@FanDuelSN_CBUS) January 12, 2025

"They're playing well under their coach," Chayka said. "There's clearly a lot of structure and a lot of team buy-in. They're fifth most defensive zone turnovers. They're causing turnovers and being able to recover the puck.

"And also fourth most defensive puck recoveries. So they're getting turnovers and getting recoveries. Being able to regroup and really push the neutral zone causing a lot of havoc and a lot of goals."

Chayka also alluded to career years by several Blue Jackets members and the team could have multiple point-per-game players for the first time. Currently, Zach Werenski (1.12), Kirill Marchenko (1.09), and Sean Monahan (1.00) lead the way.

Last week, Ed Francis discussed the Jackets' upcoming schedule. Entering the week of Jan. 6, Columbus was just outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture, one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wild-card spot.

Columbus made things easy on themselves, sweeping the week with wins in Pittsburgh, getting a home win against the Seattle Kraken, and getting a road win in St. Louis. Road wins have been hard to come by for this group so getting two in a week, especially that elusive victory in Pittsburgh for the first time since 2015 was a momentum maker.

Columbus faces four teams in the week ahead currently outside the playoff picture.

The Blue Jackets are enjoying their longest winning streak and best stretch of hockey since 2021-22. As Evason said, there's a sense they can truly win every night they take the ice.

Before the season Columbus' playoff odds were minute. Now per MoneyPuck, those odds are up to 9.8%. The ceiling is high and the vibes are higher.

Let's see what this team is made of.