Winning Thoughts: Blue Jackets end road trip on a high note

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

BLUE JACKETS 4, JETS 1

1. There are certain wins that stand out a little bit throughout the season, and this was one of them.

Consider the following facts. Winnipeg became the first NHL team to 20 wins on the season Saturday at Chicago and had lost just twice in 11 home games coming into Sunday. The Jets have had the Blue Jackets’ number in recent years, winning all three games over the past two seasons by a combined score of 17-3. And Columbus entered on a three-game losing skid while playing its fifth road game in eight days.

You could argue the stars aligned in a way that a Blue Jackets win seemed unlikely, but Columbus didn’t think that way. The Blue Jackets came out of the gates strong, holding a 12-6 edge in shots on goal in the first period, and never really let the Jets get going on the way to the win.

“I think it shows a lot of character,” defenseman Ivan Provorov said. “I think last game, we deserved better, and for us to not feel sorry for ourselves, stay focused and play the right way on the last game of the road trip, it shows a lot about this team. I think we’ve grown a lot since last year and I think we’re trending in the right direction.”

In the end, the Blue Jackets did a lot right in this game. The Jets are one of the hardest teams to play against in the league with a good mix of size, skill, grit and talent, and they often wear down opposing teams and play keepaway with the puck. But in this one, Columbus was solid defensively throughout, limiting the Jets to just 25 shots on goal, and the Blue Jackets handled game situations much better in this one as well.

While they gave up a power-play goal for the 13^th straight game, the Blue Jackets killed the Jets’ first three chances and ended up tying things up on the man advantage with Dmitri Voronkov’s power-play goal 2:02 after Winnipeg’s tally. Unlike in Vancouver, where Columbus went into the third period tied Friday before giving up three unanswered goals, this time the Blue Jackets got the tallies needed to win in the final frame.

“That’s definitely a good measuring stick game,” forward James van Riemsdyk said. “We know what kind of season those guys are having over there. It was one of those games where I felt like we stuck with it the whole 60. I thought we played fairly consistent, no lapses in our game, and did the little things, took care of the details to win a game. So that’s obviously an encouraging thing.”

2. The CBJ coaching staff struck some gold when it put the lines in a blender for Friday night’s game.

Things had gotten a little stale up front as the Jackets lost games in Calgary and Edmonton midweek, so Dean Evason and his fellow coaches shook things up going into Friday in Vancouver. They got the start they wanted in a dominant first, but the Blue Jackets couldn’t keep the momentum going for 60 minutes.

It was enough to run it back with the same combinations, though, and the Blue Jackets again were solid up and down the lineup Sunday. In particular, the top line of van Riemsdyk, Kent Johnson and center Sean Monahan got the job done, with Johnson tallying twice in the third period to turn a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 lead.

Through two games together, per Natural Stat Trick, the line has been on the ice for 19 scoring chances for at 5-on-5 and just six against.

“With KJ, we played together a little bit in training camp, and I could feel from our first game together there that we would have some good chemistry,” van Riemsdyk said. “We kind of thought on the same wavelength, I thought.

“And then Monny’s always someone over the course of my career that I thought I would love to get a chance to play with. He's just a smart, reliable player, plays all facets of the game, and I feel like he's a guy I always see when I have the puck so he's always in the right spots.”

Johnson notched his second multigoal game of the season and ended a three-game scoreless streak, pushing himself back above a point-per-game pace (14 in 13 contests) on the season. He was consistently dangerous, something he attributed in part to his new partners.

“I thought we played good in Vancouver, just didn’t bury it, and that’ll happen,” Johnson said. “We got the bounces tonight. It was fun. They’re both just really good players and do some different things than me, I think. Monny’s a really good two-way center – offense, defense, can make every play. JVR can make every play, too, and is so good around the net. He’s a bigger body that likes to be there. I think they’re a really good fit with me.”

3. Ivan Provorov showed he’s tougher than the rest of us combined.

When he was tripped up early in the second period of Friday’s game in Vancouver and stood up with his thumb pointing at, shall we say, a unique angle, it appeared the CBJ defenseman would have to miss significant time.

But one has to remember Provorov has missed just three games in his nine-year NHL career, all because of COVID protocols, and is yet to be out for a game in CBJ colors. When tests showed there were no broken bones in his hand, it came down to whether he had the pain tolerance and feel to play through the injury, and Provorov did just that Sunday.

“As a competitor, I love the game,” Provorov said. “I love to compete. I love to do whatever I can to help the team win, play for my teammates. I guess today was another one of those games.”

Not only did Provorov play, he might have had one of his best games of the season. He skated 23:07, finished plus-3 and had an assist on Johnson’s second goal, moving the puck up the ice to van Riemsdyk and creating an odd-man rush with his breakout feed.

With the Blue Jackets looking to enhance a team-first culture under Evason, with players willing to lay it all on the line for each other, it’s clear the head coach appreciated Provorov’s dedication to the cause.

“Yeah, it’s awesome,” Evason said. “Nobody thought he was gonna play except him. He was ready to go, and he had no issues. It didn’t look like he had any problems handling it or shooting. He’s a tough guy.”