Winning Thoughts: Blue Jackets take care of business vs. Blackhawks

After CBJ wins, we'll give three takeaways about what stood out or what we'll remember from the Blue Jackets victory.

BLUE JACKETS 5, BLACKHAWKS 1

1. The Blue Jackets came back from two-week break ready to get back into a playoff push.

Columbus picked up a big two points against the Chicago Blackhawks to tie the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference's top wild card spot.

The standings are lining up for a dramatic finish to this regular season as with 25 games remaining for Columbus, there are eight teams within five points of each other vying for two playoff spots.

The Blue Jackets and Red Wings will have back-to-back games with each other including the NHL Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium on Saturday that is proving to be one of the most influential games of the season.

“Points are so important right now,” CBJ defenseman Zach Werenski said. “With just over a month and a half left in the season, we're battling with (Detroit). We're battling with Ottawa, the Rangers. It's fun to look at it, right? We're in a great spot.”

Winning hockey is fun to play and for this team, coming back and being in the hunt will make all of these games that are coming up both fun and exciting. Forward Kent Johnson, who had two goals in the win, said it was good to get back on the ice with all his teammates and compete again.

“I'm excited to just kind of keep going," Johnson said. "It's fun to just get back out there and be with the guys."

2. Werenski didn't miss a beat in extending his home point streak to 22 games.

After making his country proud as the points leader in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, Werenski picked back up where he left off with one goal and two assists.

The Blue Jackets’ star defenseman now has 62 points on the season, second among all NHL blueliners behind Colorado's Cale Makar (63). Now with his 22nd game in a row with a point at home, his streak is tied for third all-time among NHL defensemen with Paul Coffey and just three games back of Bobby Orr’s record of 25 games.

“Impressed? 100%," head coach Dean Evason said of Werenski's performance just days after the 4 Nations ended. "Shocked? No. He's just such an incredible athlete.”

The last 48 hours leading up to the game were eventful for Werenski. He went from the finals of a tournament that had a playoff-esque atmosphere to one day off and then back to work today.

“I think the last two weeks here, I was pretty focused. A lot of energy mentally the last couple of weeks,” Werenski said. “So I slept well last night and I napped hard today. I could have napped for forever, but we're in a great spot here. So once I got to the rink, I was ready to go, and I dialed in.”

With how fast he went from the 4 Nations final to the CBJ game, Werenski said he still has not been able to reflect on the tournament, but soon he will look back and realize what he took part in.

“It doesn't feel like the 4 Nations happened," he said. "It's just such a quick turnaround, no time to even digest it or think about it. Get back yesterday, I woke up today and (it's) game day, so I think (Sunday) and Monday, I'll have time to really reflect on it and just think about how cool it really was.”

3. Joseph LaBate made a splash in his Blue Jackets debut.

It had been nearly eight years since the 6-foot-5 forward laced his skates ahead of an NHL game that he was playing in. After a long hiatus, he impressed in his Blue Jackets debut.

Although he did not fill up the stat sheet, earning 7:19 of ice time, making three hits, finishing with a plus-1 rating and a fight with former CBJ captain Nick Foligno, LaBate found other ways to impress his new coaching staff.

“What we were impressed with was his presence on the bench for a guy that wasn't here in training camp,” Evason said. “I don't know how many guys he actually knows in the locker room. Certainly doesn't know us as a coaching staff, he knows (assistant coach) Scott Ford, but he was vocal, he was positive.”

Evason was also impressed with his on-ice ability. LaBate adds a lot of physicality to the Blue Jackets locker room with his size and his skating ability, making the 31-year-old an ideal addition to the bottom six.

“He did all those things as a big man, had a good stick, finished his checks,” Evason said.