PREVIEW: Blue Jackets get right back at it in St. Louis

The Blue Jackets have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL since Rick Bowness took over as head coach Jan. 13, winning seven of eight games.

The problem is that some of the teams Columbus is chasing in the Eastern Conference playoff race have been just about as good.

With matching 7-1-1 records, Boston and Buffalo lead the NHL with 15 points in that span, while Pittsburgh (6-0-1) and Ottawa (5-2-2) are racking up points, too. That means that even with the recent hot streak that continued with last night’s 4-2 win in Chicago, Columbus enters tonight’s game in St. Louis still eight points behind the final wild card spot and six behind the New York Islanders for third in the Metropolitan Division.

That’s one reason Bowness has been clear – while it’s been good to win games, the Blue Jackets have to keep their eye on the prize.

“First of all, it’s nice we’ve won these games, but we’re still fighting here,” Bowness said. “We haven’t done anything yet. We gotta keep pushing, so that’s the message we’re sending. They’re hearing that, that we’re just going to keep pushing and we haven’t done anything yet. We keep pushing into that playoff spot, but yeah, I think (our game) is coming.”

So how have the Blue Jackets done it? Since Bowness took over, Columbus is averaging 3.88 goals per game, good for fifth in the NHL, while ceding just 2.63 to tie for eighth in the league. The power play is clicking at 25.0 percent and delivered another key tally in the win over Chicago, while the penalty kill has allowed just one goal in the last six games.

Columbus has also scored the first goal in seven of the eight games, and in fact, the Blue Jackets have trailed in only two of those contests. Add in the return to health of such key players as Mason Marchment, Denton Mateychuk and Miles Wood, and the Blue Jackets have been able to get the job done of late.

“I think we kind of got everyone in a groove right now, and it's nice to have everyone back healthy,” Marchment said. “That obviously helps, but just playing as a team and playing our team systems, I thought we've done a great job of it so far. When we're all on the same page, it's an easier game.”

The game against the Blues will mark the last road game this season against a Western Conference foe.

Scratches: Danton Heinen, Egor Zamula, Dante Fabbro (lower body injury)

Injured Reserve: D Brendan Smith (knee surgery, out three to four months as of Jan. 8)

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets will meet with the media in the afternoon before the game, so any potential changes to the lineup will come then.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 31, 2001: The Blue Jackets sign forward Jody Shelley, who had been playing for the team’s AHL affiliate in Syracuse. Shelley would make his debut later that season and go on to play 380 games with the Blue Jackets, scoring 11 goals and setting a then-franchise record with 1,025 penalty minutes.

Jan. 31, 2004: Anders Eriksson scores 2:59 into overtime and the Blue Jackets take a 2-1 win vs. Minnesota in Nationwide Arena.

Jan. 31, 2025: The Blue Jackets earn their third straight overtime win, rallying in the third period and then getting Zach Werenski’s goal in overtime to post a 3-2 victory in their first-ever visit to Utah. Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson score in the third period to tie the game before Werenski finishes off Cole Sillinger’s pass on a 2-on-0.

The Numbers Game

With two assists Friday night vs. Chicago, Zach Werenski set a CBJ record for a defenseman for points in a month with 19 during January. He is the only defenseman in franchise history to score at least 15 points in a month and has now done so six times the past two seasons. He also clinched his third consecutive 40-assist season and has points in 17 of the last 19 games (10-19-29) as well as 28 of the last 33 (15-33-48). He is first among NHL defensemen in goals (19) and tied for first in points (59), second in average ice time (26:36) and is first in multipoint games (20, tied for seventh in NHL). With one more goal, he’ll notch his third 20-goal season and become the fourth active NHL defenseman with three-plus 20-goal seasons. … Charlie Coyle’s hat trick vs. Chicago gave him nine goals and 14 points in the past nine games, and his four-point night tied a season high and was his sixth game with at least three points this season. He has scored in three straight games and has multiple points in each contest, with a 5-4-9 line in that span. He is just the third Blue Jacket ever with nine points in a three-game span, joining David Vyborny in 2004 and Artemi Panarin in 2018. ... With eight goals since joining the team, Mason Marchment has tied a franchise record with Alex Nylander for the most goals in a player’s first 11 games with the Blue Jackets. ... Kirill Marchenko has 10 points in the last nine games (3-7-10) and points in 14 of the last 18 (9-10-19). ... Goaltender Jet Greaves has won his last four decisions and has a .915 save percentage in his last 13 appearances. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have scored 39 goals this season, the most in the NHL. … Columbus has scored the first goal in 17 of the last 22 contests and 32 of 53 games overall. ... The Blue Jackets are 5-1 in shootouts this year.

Know The Foe: St. Louis Blues

Head coach: Jim Montgomery (Second season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.48 (31st) | Scoring defense: 3.41 (28th) | PP: 17.0 percent (25th) | PK: 73.8 percent (29th)

The narrative: After making the playoffs 10 of 11 seasons from 2012-22, St. Louis missed the postseason for two straight years and looked ready to repeat the same fate a year ago before the team fired head coach Drew Bannister and hired Jim Montgomery. The Blues raced to a 35-18-7 finish under Montgomery then took Presidents’ Trophy winner Winnipeg to seven games in the first round before the Jets advanced. This year has been a struggle from the start, though, as St. Louis won just six of its first 21 games and is 10 points out of a playoff spot.

Scoring leaders: Goals have been hard to come by this year for the Blues, as Robert Thomas has missed 12 games this year and is out with a lower-body injury but still leads the way with 33 points on 11 goals and 22 assists. Pavel Buchnevich follows with a 9-21-30 line, while Justin Faulk leads the way on defense with 11 goals among 27 points. Jordan Kyrou also has 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) while Jake Neighbours has a team-best 13 tallies.

In net: Canadian Olympian Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer have largely split the starts, with Hofer posting the better numbers with a 12-10-3 record, 2.82 GAA and .899 save percentage. Binnington is 8-15-6 with a 3.59 GAA and .867 save percentage that is second worst in the NHL among goalies with at least 20 appearances.

What's new: The Blues had won just two of their previous 10 games before a 5-4 home victory over Florida on Thursday night. That was an offensive explosion for St. Louis, which had scored just 10 goals over its previous five games, in part because the team is missing such talents as Thomas, Dylan Holloway and Pius Suter up front.

Trending: Columbus has won five games in a row against the Blues, including a 3-2 victory Nov. 1 in Nationwide Arena to start the season series.

Former CBJ: Forward Alexandre Texier played eight games for St. Louis before being traded to Montreal in November.