After CBJ wins, we'll give three takeaways about what stood out or what we'll remember from the Blue Jackets victory.
1. Denton Mateychuk impressed in his NHL debut.
Perhaps the Blue Jackets’ top prospect, the defenseman took the ice against the Canadiens and recorded 18:36 minutes of ice-time, which was eighth on the team, and earned a spot on the second power-play unit.
“He was real good,” head coach Dean Evason said. “We loved his composure. I guess the best part is that he didn't look out of place, right? He played key moments in that hockey game and conducted himself very well.”
Though he did not get on the score sheet and finished with an even plus/minus rating, Mateychuk cherished every moment in his debut and was especially happy that it resulted in a win for the Blue Jackets.
“It was unbelievable. You know, everything that you dream of as a kid kind of finally coming to fruition,” Mateychuk said. “It's an awesome moment. And, yeah, it was just a good game. Glad we got the win there.”
While in Cleveland with the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, Mateychuk has 25 points in 27 games played this year in his first pro season. His nine goals and 25 points lead the league in both of those categories.
That is how the 2022 first-round draft pick has earned trust with the CBJ coaching staff to warrant an opportunity on the power play in his first NHL game.
“It makes me feel pretty good (to be trusted on special teams units),” Mateychuk said. “It's awesome to be trusted with that, but now you got to perform and be able to take that situation and make the most of it. I was trying to go out there and do my thing.”
2. Scoring first often leads to Jackets wins.
When scoring the opening goal of the game, the Columbus Blue Jackets have an 11-5-4 record this season. However, when giving up the first goal, the team has a 3-10-2 record.
This is why Evason and the players have continuously mentioned how important their starts are in games. In this one, Columbus led 2-0 after one period on goals from Dmitri Voronkov and Kent Johnson, which got a big crowd in Nationwide Arena buzzing.
“It's nice to get a feel. The fans got into it, we had some jump,” Evason said. “The fans are giving us energy all the time, but to give back some energy to them, that's pretty good.”
While the Blue Jackets had an early two-goal lead, it was a bit reminiscent of their game Saturday in Philadelphia, where they went on to lose 5-4 in overtime after taking the same lead into the final period.
“We got to 2-0 and then in Philly we had 2-0, too, and then we let it slip away again,” Evason said. “So that's not something we want to have happen.”
This one wasn’t a straight line as it took Kirill Marchenko’s goal with 2:12 left to clinch the victory, but starting fast put the Blue Jackets on the right track.
3. Marchenko’s game-winning goal was another big moment for him.
As time was winding down and it seemed as though overtime for the fourth time in seven games was inevitable, Marchenko sniped a wrist shot over the left shoulder of Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault from the left circle.
