COLUMBUS, Ohio — For almost a decade now, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ power play has been an abomination. Here’s where the Blue Jackets have ranked starting with last season and working back to 2017-18: 31st, 26th, 24th, 27th, 27th, 28th and 25th.
Not since the 2016-17 season, when Zach Werenski was a rookie, fourth-liner Sam Gagner was the power-play catalyst, and John Tortorella was in his first full season as coach have the Blue Jackets finished in the top two-thirds of the NHL.
There have been intermittent glimpses all season long that the Blue Jackets — always one of the league’s youngest teams, always building toward something that never quite arrives — are finally taking steps toward being one of the league’s more dangerous offensive clubs.
That was for certain the case on Friday, when the Blue Jackets scored four second-period goals and rolled to a 6-2 win over the Boston Bruins before a standing-room-only crowd of 18,821 in Nationwide Arena, the largest gathering of the season.
And tucked inside those six goals were three power-play goals, the first time the Blue Jackets have scored three man-advantage goals in a game in nearly four years.
“It’s huge,” Werenski said. “I don’t think we’ve really had a good power play here since my first year, so it’s been a long time.
“It’s winning us hockey games. It’s crucial at certain times of the game, like tonight, to get us going a little bit. It’s a lot of fun being on it. Now the hard part is doing it the rest of the season and just keeping it going. But I like where we’re at right now.”
BIG GUY WITH A BIG GOAL! @FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/dXl4Fkcyvd
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 28, 2024
Werenski matched a career-high with four assists, three of them on the power play. Dmitri Voronkov continued his torrid pace with two goals and an assist, with both goals on the power play. Kirill Marchenko had a goal and two assists, with both assists on the power play. And Sean Monahan had two goals, one with the man advantage.
This is what it looks like when skill meets structure, when special teams roles are defined and embraced, and when a unit is left intact long enough to develop the quick-twitch communication and small-play synchronicity that is a pure thrill to watch.
Voronkov is an unmovable monster at net front, with hands and vision that belie his frame. Monahan has embraced the bumper role, forcing the opposing penalty-kill to make difficult decisions on the fly. That leaves Werenski (an elite-level defenseman), Kent Johnson (an emerging playmaking wizard), and Marchenko (a sharpshooter) to prowl on the perimeter, looking for shots and passing lanes.
“We’re moving the puck around well right now,” Monahan said. “Everybody is comfortable in their roles and playing their part. We can create momentum even if we don’t score. It’s fun to be a part of, yeah.”
These games coming out of a three-day holiday break can be a challenge. There were no signs of a slow start on Friday, but the power play made sure of it. At 11:29 of the first period, Monahan redirected a Werenski wrister up and over Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to make it 1-0.
The Jackets scored three goals in the span of 2:47 of the second period, the last of which was an impressive display from in tight by Voronkov. Johnson found him all alone on the doorstep to Korpisalo’s right, and Voronkov roofed the puck with very little runway under the bar by the near post to make it 4-1.
Voronkov struck again on the power play with 45.7 seconds left in the second when he put back a Marchenko shot to make it 5-1. The 6-foot-5, 228-pound forward, who also scored twice in the pre-break game against Montreal, now has 5-5-10 during a six-game point streak.
“Big, big body, right?” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “Strong body who can win puck battles. When you’re around the front of the net you want to have the hands to collect the puck and get it into the right areas. He’s doing a lot of things, at five-on-five, too, that are helping his team.”
“Not many guys can do that!”
Z’s been very impressed by Voronkov’s play! Hear more from Z, Monny, and Coach Evason after tonight’s victory over the Bruins⬇️
🎥 https://t.co/bAgi5u6LRS#CBJ pic.twitter.com/mNB6iQSMad
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 28, 2024
Marchenko now has a seven-game point streak, with 4-9-13 in that span. Werenski, who had three assists vs. Montreal on Dec. 23, has seven assists in his past two games.
The last time the Blue Jackets scored three power-play goals in a single game was Feb. 23, 2021, vs. Chicago, a 6-5 shootout loss.
But this had been brewing for some time now. The Jackets have scored a power-play goal in eight of their last 10 games, going 10 for 30 (33 percent) in that span. They’re now at 21.7 percent, which likely put them in the top half of the league when all of Friday’s games are completed.
Certainly, being in the top half of the league isn’t the goal. (Why stop there, right?) But the progress is unmistakable: the Blue Jackets scored 32 power-play goals all of last season. They have 21 (through 36 games) after Friday’s burst.
The Blue Jackets flew after the game to Boston, where on Saturday they’ll play the Bruins in a rare home-and-home, back-to-back. The challenge now, of course, will be handling what figures to be a far more motivated Boston club in TD Garden.
The Jackets are 15-15-6 now now on the season, but just 4-11-3 on the road. That fact was stressed quickly after Friday’s game, Evason said.
“We went in and said, ‘That’s great. Good win,” Evason said. “We’ve challenged the group to be better on the road. We have to be better on the road if we’re going to get where we want to go.
“This game tonight has to roll into tomorrow, 100 percent.”
(Photo: Ben Jackson / Getty Images)
