A road trip that spans all four time zones was supposed to be the latest test of the mettle of the Columbus Blue Jackets as they look to defy the experts and stay in the postseason race.
So far, they’ve passed with flying colors.
The Blue Jackets opened things Thursday with an overtime win in Vegas then battled their way to a come-from-behind OT win Friday in Utah, the first time they’ve won games on consecutive days on the road since January 2020.
With two points in the final two games tonight in Dallas and Tuesday at Buffalo, Columbus would be able to tie the franchise’s all-time record for most points on a four-game road trip with six, also achieved most recently in January 2020.
It hasn’t come easy thus far, though, with the Blue Jackets needing a two-goal, third-period comeback before Zach Werenski’s overtime goal Friday to win their first-ever visit to Utah. On the second half of the back-to-back, the Blue Jackets clearly didn’t have their best legs, but they did stick around and keep the game within shouting distance.
Utah led 1-0 after two periods and scored in the opening minute of the third to take a 2-0 lead, but Werenski said the Blue Jackets never lost faith they’d be able to get back in the game.
“They score in the third period and make it 2-0, and there’s one of two ways you can go on that end,” Werenski said. “We chose to just keep digging and keep playing. Guys stepped up and made a couple of nice plays. Some fluky goals, but we just stuck with it and kept playing our game, and good things happen. We’ll take it.”
In some ways, it was no mistake that the Blue Jackets were able to battle their way to the two points. The third-period comeback win was Columbus’ sixth on the year, good for a tie for third in the NHL, and head coach Dean Evason has talked extensively about how his team seems to thrive in tough situations.
“Even when we go down 2-0 early in the third period, the guys, there was no panic,” Evason said. “It was just like, ‘OK, let’s see where we sit.’ Nobody knows that you’re going to come back in games like that, but you gotta give yourself an opportunity, and mentally we’ve done that when we’ve got into those type of situations.”
Know The Foe: Dallas Stars
Head coach: Peter DeBoer (third season)
Team stats: Goals per game: 3.18 (10th) | Scoring defense: 2.47 (3rd) | PP: 19.2 percent (23rd) | PK: 84.1 percent (2nd)
The narrative: The Stars have built a consistent winner, making the postseason in five of the last six years, winning the Central Division a season ago and earning consecutive trips to the Western Conference Final. Getting over the hump and winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1998 is the last hurdle to clear, and the Stars might just have the team to do it this season.
Team leaders: Jason Robertson comes into the game as one of the hottest players in the NHL, as the 25-year-old wing finished January tied for third in the NHL with 10 goals and tied for second with 21 points. He’s tied for the Stars lead in points on the year with a 19-30-49 line, matching the season production with veteran center Matt Duchene (18-31-49). Wyatt Johnston is one of the top young players in the league as the 21-year-old center has 14 goals and 43 points on the season, while Roope Hintz leads Dallas with 22 goals.
It also helps to have one of the top goaltenders in the league, and Jake Oettinger is second in the NHL with 26 wins while posting a 26-11-1 record, 2.32 GAA and .912 save percentage. Backup Casey DeSmith (7-6-0, 2.42, .913) has posted almost identical numbers.
What's new: The Stars were dealt a blow of adversity as top defenseman Miro Heiskanen suffered a lower-body injury last week that requires surgery, leaving him out for an extended period of time. He joins Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment on the injured list, but the Stars haven’t seemed to notice, capturing four wins in a row after Friday’s victory over Vancouver. If there’s any cause for alarm, it’s that they didn’t hit 20 shots on goal in two of those wins.
Trending: Dallas swept the two-game season series a year ago but Columbus was victorious in its 2022-23 visit to the city. In all, the Blue Jackets are 8-6-0 in their last 14 trips to Dallas.
Former CBJ: Duchene is on his fifth team but has settled in nicely in Dallas, posting 43 goals and 114 points in 131 games with the Stars the past two years.
