PREVIEW: California trip continues in LA for Blue Jackets

If you stayed up Saturday night into Sunday morning and thought the Blue Jackets were headed to overtime in San Jose, you’d have had history on your side.

Before that game, the Blue Jackets had won just eight games in franchise history with a tiebreaking tally in the final minute, but if there was a man to score such a big goal, it would be Boone Jenner.

He previously had a final-minute winner in 2022 in Washington, and his undying battle level led him to fight his way through two San Jose defenders and put a backhander past goalie Kaapo Kahkonen with 12.9 seconds left and give the Jackets a 4-3 win over the Sharks.

Not thinking about any individual accolades, though, Jenner instead focused on what the win meant for the team.

“When you get the two points, it’s a lot better,” Jenner said after the second-latest game winner in CBJ history based on the game clock. “We’ve played some good games and you don’t get the result,” Jenner said. “You know, there are some ups and downs for us tonight, some good minutes, but I really like the way we just found a way to win. I mean, that’s what you have to do in this league.”

The Blue Jackets got strong performances from the top two lines, as the trio of Jenner centering Johnny Gaudreau and Jack Roslovic as well as the Russian trio of Dmitri Voronkov between Yegor Chinakhov and Kirill Marchenko dominated possession. Those two lines combined for all four CBJ goals, not to mention an edge of 48-24 in shot attempts and 22-11 in shots on goal when on the ice at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick.

Getting big performances from top players was the difference, and it allowed the Jackets to begin the three-game California trip with a win. Next up comes a visit to take on Los Angeles, and the hope is Columbus can finish the trip and the season strong.

“It’s huge,” Zach Werenski said. “I think if we can string some wins together, we can build on it for next season. A lot of young guys in this room haven’t really experienced winning hockey consistently. A lot of our younger players, I think it’ll be good for them if we can get consistent wins here, you know, three or four in a row, seven out of 10, whatever it may be to finish the season up here. I think we can just learn how to win in certain situations in different buildings.”

Know The Foe: Los Angeles Kings

Head coach: Jim Hiller (First season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.09 (16th) | Scoring defense: 2.64 (4th) | PP: 21.2 percent (17th) | PK: 86.5 percent (1st)

The narrative: The Kings haven’t won a playoff series since capturing the Stanley Cup in 2013-14, but the hope in LA was after making two straight postseason appearances, the team would be ready for another step this season. It certainly looked that way during a red-hot start, but midseason struggles led to longtime coach Todd McLellan being replaced by Hiller earlier this month. LA is still in a playoff spot and a return to the postseason seems likely, but they’ll need to get their mojo back to make something of it.

Team leaders: One of the more underrated players in the league, Adrian Kempe is the team leader in points with 19 goals and 28 assists for 47 points. Veteran Anze Kopitar (17-28-45), standout Kevin Fiala (13-30-43) and 21-year-old Quinton Byfield (17-23-40) are right behind, while Trevor Moore has a team-high 21 goals.

In net, Pheonix Copley’s torn ACL has him out for the season, leaving the No. 1 job to Cam Talbot. An offseason signing who represented LA at the All-Star Game this year, Talbot is 15-13-5 with a 2.58 GAA and .911 save percentage. Backup “Big Save” David Rittich is 8-2-3 with a 2.25 GAA and .919 save percentage.

What's new: Hiller – a 54-year-old former Kings forward who previously had been an assistant with the team as well as Detroit, Toronto and the Islanders – has won four of his first five games as the head coach, which is the bump you’re hoping for when you make a move like that. Before McLellan's firing, the Kings went 3-8-6 in his final 17 games, scoring just 40 goals (2.35 per game) in that time frame. Could the return of Viktor Arvidsson, who made his season debut last week after offseason back surgery, be a spark up front?

Trending: The Kings began the season series with a 4-3 overtime win Dec. 5 in Nationwide Arena, with Drew Doughty getting the winner. Since sweeping LA in 2019-20, the Jackets are just 1-2-2 in the series the past three years.

Former CBJ: There are two familiar faces on the squad in forward Pierre-Luc Dubois and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. Dubois has posted an 11-13-24 line in his first year in LA after being acquired in a blockbuster deal this summer, while Gavrikov has four goals among 15 points in 48 games.

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)

Johnny Gaudreau – Boone Jenner – Jack Roslovic
Yegor Chinakhov – Dmitri Voronkov – Kirill Marchenko
Kent Johnson – Cole Sillinger – Justin Danforth
Alexandre Texier – Sean Kuraly – Mathieu Olivier
Zach Werenski – Adam Boqvist
Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson
Jake Bean – Erik Gudbranson
Elvis Merzlikins
Daniil Tarasov

Scratches: Adam Fantilli (calf laceration, out eight weeks as of Jan. 31), Emil Bemstrom, Andrew Peeke

Injured reserve: None

Roster Report: Danforth moved up a line and Olivier skated in Bemstrom’s place in practice today in Los Angeles, which will be the only changes to the lineup after the win in San Jose.

3 Stats to Know

• Johnny Gaudreau has collected assists in six straight games (0-8-8) and nine of his past 11 games (0-12-12) after posting two helpers in San Jose. He’s the third CBJ player to notch 12 assists in an 11-game span without scoring a goal, joining Alexander Wennberg in 2016 and Espen Knutsen in 2001. His six-game assist streak is tied for the second longest in CBJ history.
• Boone Jenner has four goals in the last three games since returning from the NHL All-Star Game and leads the Blue Jackets with 17 goals.
• Milestone watch: Adam Boqvist is three games from 200 for his NHL career (22-60-82, 197 GP). ... Boone Jenner is five games away from becoming the first player in CBJ history to play 700 games (187-164-351, 695 GP). ... Zach Werenski is five assists from 200 for his NHL career (81-195-276, 457 GP).

Who’s Hot

Johnny Gaudreau has recorded 3-19-22 in the last 23 games. ... Per Natural Stat Trick, the first line of Gaudreau, Boone Jenner and Jack Roslovic has outattempted foes 51-20, outshot teams 28-10 and outchanced teams 24-8 in the last two games at 5-on-5. ... Dmitri Voronkov has seven goals in the last 10 games and is among NHL rookie leaders in goals (14, third) and points (27, tied for fourth). ... Yegor Chinakhov has collected a 3-4-7 line in his last six contests played after collecting two assists at San Jose and has totaled 12-9-21 over his last 24 contests. ... Zach Werenski has points in four straight games (1-3-4) and broke a 38-game goal drought Saturday. ... With two assists in San Jose, Erik Gudbranson has set career highs in helpers (14) and points (17). ... The team’s rookie stat line of 27-36-63 is first in the NHL in goals and third in points.

This Day in CBJ History

Feb. 20, 2004: For the first time in franchise history, all four of the Blue Jackets’ first-round picks play in the same game. Rostislav Klesla (2000), Pascal Leclaire (2001), Rick Nash (2002) and Nikolai Zherdev (2003) play as the Jackets lose 3-2 at Phoenix in Leclaire’s first-ever NHL game.

Feb. 20, 2022: The Blue Jackets sign goaltender Jet Greaves, who has been playing with the team’s minor league affiliate in Cleveland, to a three-year NHL contract