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Columbus Blue Jackets are dented and dinged, but they're still chugging | Arace
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- Columbus Blue Jackets are dented and dinged, but they're still chugging | Arace
As the season wore on and the Blue Jackets continued to exceed expectations, a four-game road trip from Jan. 30-Feb. 4 began to jump off the magnetic schedule on the side of the refrigerator – Vegas and Utah back-to-back, then Dallas , then Buffalo.
Once again, the Jackets cleared the mark with overtime victories in Vegas and Salt Lake City. Then came the carnage in Dallas , where leading scorer Kirill Marchenko was hit in the face with a puck (while on the bench) and top-pair defenseman Dante Fabbro took an elbow to the chin and was, presumably, concussed.
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There was a scene from that Dallas game – of Norris Trophy candidate Zach Werenski , clearly in pain with some kind of arm injury, lowering his head in a gesture of incredulity. It was late in the second period of what became a 5-3 loss to the Stars. Werenski rested his forehead to rest on top of the wall that fronts the visitors' bench, his face was not visible, all you could see was the top of his white helmet.
Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski passes the puck against the Rangers on Saturday.
If you are a Jackets fan, you could easily imagine the thought bubbles popping up above the helmet. You could see the immediate frustration – they had a good chance to win this game against the mighty Stars, one of the two best home teams in the league. You could see Werenski, in peak prime and amid a career year, gauging the pain in his arm. Would he be able to represent the United States in the upcoming 4 Nations tournament?
You couldn't see his eyes, but you could imagine the Jackets' season flashing in front of them. Werenski didn't play in Buffalo, where the Jackets suffered a 3-2 defeat . He was back in the lineup when the Jackets returned home; they lost in overtime to Utah Thursday and lost 4-3 to the New York Rangers Saturday.
New York Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller (79) hits Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli (19) in the second period at Nationwide Arena on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio.
A blessed, two-week break for the 4 Nations commenced. Werenski flew to Montreal , where he'll represent Team USA next to Charlie McAvoy on the second pairing.
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The Blue Jackets were one of the best stories of the NHL season . Will they be yet? They'd risen from the dregs of the league, gone through unspeakable tragedy and emerged as playoff contenders. They went into the break on a four-game losing streak. They Jackets will be without Fabbro (upper body) and Marchenko (broken jaw) for an undisclosed period. When will the hockey gods cease from frowning on this franchise? Fans who have felt the pain of the players for years – the Jackets lost 1,261 man-games to injury in the previous three seasons (an average of 420 per) and they're tracking to surpass 300 man-games lost this season – are left to wonder when the curse will lift.
Once again, questioning the training staff is a thing. But, c'mon. Marchenko got hit by friendly fire; Fabbro took an elbow to the mush (no call); top-line center Sean Monahan (wrist surgery) was cross-checked from behind (no call); captain Boone Jenner (shoulder surgery) blew a tire and rammed himself into the boards in training camp; defenseman Erik Gudbranson (shoulder surgery) collided with a teammate in the season opener. … What is the trainer supposed to do?
The Jackets' pre-break skid dropped them one point behind Detroit for the second wild card in the East. Are they done? No. In the wild-card standings, seven points separate nine teams. What will president/general manager Don Waddell do at the March 7 trade deadline? Does he sell defenseman Ivan Provorov and/or forward Mathieu Olivier ? Or is he a buyer? We shall see.
This much can be said: No matter what oddsmakers predict for their future , what the Jackets (26-22-8) have done to this point is remarkable. Even goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (7-2-0, .910 save percentage, 2.42 goals-against average in January) has changed his narrative . Under coach Dean Evason, these Jackets have shown they can score in bunches – and, of late, they've shown an increasing comfort level with grinding out points, home and away.
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Their resolve and their organizational depth are once again being tested and, this time around, there is a depth to their resolve and an expansion of their depth. Centers Adam Fantilli (age 20) and Cole Sillinger (21) are blossoming. Center Luca Del Bel Belluz (21) and defenseman Denton Mateychuk (20) are off to flying starts to their careers. And so on.
These Jackets are in the turnaround phase of their rebuild. It's like they're going around a traffic rotary, and they're getting clipped at every branch. But they're still chugging along and there's no indication they're going to quit.
This column was updated to correct an inaccuracy.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets, incredibly, stay in hunt for NHL playoff spot
