Morning Musings: Blue Jackets get back in the win column

Happy days are here again -- for at least a night. The Blue Jackets got back in the win column for the first time since an Oct. 23 victory at New York, never trailing on the way to a 5-2 victory against Philadelphia on Thursday night in Nationwide Arena. The five-game losing skid felt even longer because of an open schedule brought on by the trip to Finland, but Columbus got back on the victory train thanks to two goals from Boone Jenner, a three-point night from Johnny Gaudreau and 32 saves from goalie Joonas Korpisalo. But all news was not good news, as the Blue Jackets lost defensemen Zach Werenski and Erik Gudbranson to injury.

Game In Five Minutes

Three Trending Topics

1. Just about everything that had not gone right during the Blue Jackets' losing skid turned around in this one. After five games of not having the lead, Columbus got on top in the early going of this one. The team defended in waves and won battles for loose pucks. It was just the second wire-to-wire victory of the campaign for Columbus.
   "Just our compete level," Korpisalo said of what stood out in the win. "Guys were battling there like crazy, especially dropping down to four defensemen. Just seeing how we battled, it's great to see that."
   For a team that had been fighting the proverbial disease of holding their sticks too tightly, Gaudreau's goal just 3:53 into the game was a sight for sore eyes. It allowed the Jackets to play with a lead for the first time in nearly three weeks, as Columbus was engaged from the word go and that only ramped up after Johnny Hockey's tally. By the time Werenski added a second goal at 12:03, the Jackets were off and running.
   "It's nice," Gaudreau said of playing from ahead. "Other teams try to take chances, and if you defend well and play the right way when you're up goals, it's easier to get odd-man rushes and looks. I thought we did a good job."
   2. The last time Columbus had played before Thursday night was Saturday in a 5-1 loss to Colorado in Tampere, Finland, and as time ticked off the clock in that one, Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen broke up the trio of Gaudreau, Jenner and Patrik Laine.
   It was to no avail, and when the team returned stateside, the trio was back together. On this night, it worked out, as Gaudreau turned in a solid offensive performance, Jenner had the pair of goals including an empty-netter, and Laine set up the captain for the third goal on an odd-man rush.
   That tic-tac-toe passing play gave the Jackets a 3-0 lead just 37 seconds into the middle frame and was the third goal of the night for the team's top line.
   "It was big for us," Gaudreau said. "We didn't play our best during that last game in Finland. I think we were all minus-3, minus-4. Tough game. It was great to see the way we responded."
   That trio of CBJ players finished with 15 shot attempts, nine shots on goal and the three goals (two by Jenner, one by Gaudreau). Larsen said it wasn't a perfect effort, but the three got the job done after the disappointing showing in Tampere.
   "There's still some things tonight (that have to get better), but they produced for us," Larsen said. "We met as a group, the three of us. They are important to our team. They are. They had a better game than that second game, especially. It wasn't good enough. They weren't alone, but they are key guys for us, obviously. I thought they stepped up."
   3. The good news? Columbus battled through the final 32:45 of the game with just four defensemen in Nick Blankenburg (22:25 of ice time), Vladislav Gavrikov (26:01), Andrew Peeke (25:58) and Jake Bean (26:12).
   The bad news? The situation necessitated it, with Werenski leaving in the first period when Travis Konecny evaded a check and the top CBJ defensemen went awkwardly, shoulder first, into the boards. In the second period, Gudbranson's night ended when he lost his balance along the wall behind the CBJ net and was going down when he was hit into the boards by Nicolas Deslauriers. The hit left blood trickling down Gudbranson's face, and he went to the room and did not return.
   The remaining quartet of CBJ defensemen turned in yeoman's work and got the job done down the stretch, especially in the third period. While Philadelphia had a 16-9 advantage in shots on goal in the final 20 minutes, it never quite felt like a deluge toward the net of Korpisalo in favor of the visitors.
   "We told each other to keep it simple and short shifts," Blankenburg said. "And then the forwards did a great job, too, helping us out and getting pucks deep at the red and limiting turnovers, so that was big."
   The bad news is that the injury to Werenski appears to be a long-term issue, a sour note on what should have been a joyous night with the Jackets back in the win column.
   "It's not good for Z," Larsen said when asked for a postgame update on the team's top defenseman. "It's not going to be good at all."

Quote Of The Game

Blankenburg on his game-sealing empty-net goal that went from the corner of his own defensive zone into the net on the far side of the ice: "Luckily it went in. I didn't see it because there were so many guys in front of me. I was just standing there. I was so tired. I was like, 'Please just go in.'"

Nerd Stuff

• Korpisalo started the game and got the win, the first time that has happened since he was victorious in the team's Jan. 30 triumph at Montreal last season. It was just his second start of the season.
• All six of Gaudreau's goals on the season have come at Nationwide Arena.
• Before Werenski left, he had a goal and an assist. With his goal, he now has 79 tallies in a CBJ uniform, tying Ryan Johansen for ninth pace all-time in team history.
• Emil Bemstrom turned in a strong debut after being recalled from Cleveland, notching five shots on goal in 14:11. Brendan Gaunce also made his season debut and won 13 of 18 faceoffs - including the one before Blankenburg's game-sealing goal - in 13:23.
• Per NHL Stats, Gaudreau scored his 11th game-opening goal dating to last season. Only two players have more over that span: Mika Zibanejad (13) and Dylan Larkin (12).
• Since Werenski entered the NHL in 2016-17, only five defensemen have more goals: Roman Josi (90), Brent Burns (88), Victor Hedman (86), Dougie Hamilton (84) and John Carlson (81).
• Mathieu Olivier dropped the gloves with Deslauriers in the first period and now has three fighting majors on the season in 13 games.
• Jenner finished plus-4 for the Jackets, while Owen Tippett was minus-5 and both Konecny and Kevin Hayes were minus-4.
• With tallies from Werenski and Blankenburg, the Blue Jackets have nine goals from defensemen on the year, tied for fifth in the NHL.

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