Takeaways from Blue Jackets' victory over Blackhawks
They weren’t just going to lose the next 48 games and set an NHL record with a 55-game losing streak.
The Blue Jackets were bound to win again at some point to end what had grown into a stomach-churning, season-high seven game skid. Nixing it Saturday with a dominant 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks was still quite a relief. The streak ended one regulation loss shy of tying the worst streak in franchise history, which had been reached four times previously.
“One thing you learn is that winning never gets old,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “We needed it. We needed it for team morale, really. There were some good games early on and we just didn’t get any results and the last few have been a little bit … depleted of energy is what it looked like. Today we got some good jump, I thought, and we were able to get the win.”
The inverse is that losing gets old fast and both teams at Nationwide Arena were tired of it.
The difference is the Blackhawks were essentially set up to fail this season, selling off multiple players at last summer’s draft with their eye on this year’s crop of prospects — topped by star center Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats in the Western Hockey League.
The Blue Jackets were a different story after landing star Johnny Gaudreau in free agency and re-signing Patrik Laine with the thought of possibly challenging for a playoff spot. A poor start, terrible injury luck and a bunch of young players forced into key roles sunk those hopes, but there’s a lot of hockey left and plenty of room for character wins like this one.
Here are three takeaways:
Emil Bemstrom, Kirill Marchenko shine for Columbus Blue Jackets
It’s a small sample size, but Kirill Marchenko and Emil Bemstrom have made impressive strides on the whole this season for the Blue Jackets — especially when including their domination of the American Hockey League during stints with the Cleveland Monsters.
It’s games like this one, however, that offer glimpses of how dangerous this team can become when the Blue Jackets are fully healthy and their wealth of young talent has taken a couple more steps forward.
Marchenko, Bemstrom, Yegor Chinakhov, Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger are in the early developmental stages of forming what could be a terrific group of forwards to play with stars Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine someday, not to mention what Jack Roslovic can do when he’s clicking.
That’s what was most exciting about watching Bemstrom and Marchenko excel. It was "only" the Blackhawks, yes, but they helped the Jackets' top two lines dominate puck possession. Bemstrom also scored his second goal in as many games since being recalled from Cleveland while playing opposite Gaudreau on the first power-play unit.
“That’s honestly what we need,” veteran forward Gustav Nyquist said. “We do have a lot of young guys on our team right now, so for us to be successful, a lot of those guys are going to have to score goals and play big minutes, and play in big roles. For ‘Bemmer,’ it’s important for him to score up here. He’s a scorer. Same with ‘Marchy,’ and the past couple games it’s been fun to see them find the net.”
Marchenko skated at right wing on the top line with Gaudreau and Johnson, who filled Boone Jenner’s spot as that group’s center. Bemstrom played right wing on the second line with Nyquist on the left and Roslovic in the middle.
Marchenko had a goal on two shots, four attempts and one takeaway in 13:41, scoring his fifth goal in 12 games since being recalled. Bemstrom had a goal and game-highs with six shots and 11 attempts in 13:55. It was his best NHL performance since logging his lone NHL hat trick May 3, 2021 in an overtime loss to the Nashville Predators.
If both can trend upward over a longer stretch, it could help the Blue Jackets gain needed morale for the remaining 45 games.
“I’ve never had an issue with Bemmer’s work,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “He works. That’s not a knock on him at all. It’s kind of taking that breath, calming it down and finishing. To get one helps. It’s a one-timer, great play, good pass, and then he seemed to settle in. So, yeah, we’re going to need more.”
Columbus Blue Jackets scratch Andrew Peeke amid slump
Andrew Peeke’s struggles at the blue line came to a head Saturday with Larsen making the decision to make him a healthy scratch in favor of Gavin Bayreuther.
Peeke’s contributions offensively aren’t the issue, nor is. His effort level. He has three goals, two assists and five points in 34 games and was tied with Vladislav Gavrikov in blocked shots (67) before the game Saturday. The issue is related to Peeke’s decisions with the puck, which have contributed to a -11 plus/minus rating that was tied for the fourth-lowest on the team.
“It’s never lack of effort,” Larsen said. “Peeker tries. He tries hard. He works, competes in practice, he blocks shots, he does all those intangibles you want. It’s with the puck. It’s stuff with the puck and making some better decisions that are right in front of him.”
Peeke was a revelation for the Blue Jackets last year, taking a clear step forward by playing all 82 games and earning a three-year contract extension that begins next season gives him an annual raise of roughly $2 million. Given the overall youth of the Columbus blue line and a deep stable of prospects coming up behind him, both Peeke and the Blue Jackets need him to improve.
“He’s out, I’m sure he’s not thrilled with it,” Larsen said. “That’s OK. I welcome that. I just know there’s a better game for him. I do. I watched it last year for a long stretch against real good competition. Sometimes you take a half step back to go forward again and hopefully that’s the case here.”
Blackhawks could double as ‘Black Jackets’
The NHL connections between Columbus and Chicago run deep with multiple former Blue Jackets now with the Blackhawks plus Ohio AAA Blue Jackets alum Connor Murphy.
The list includes former Blue Jackets Seth Jones and Jack Johnson, forward Max Domi, Murphy and even new Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson, who wore the captain’s ‘C’ in Columbus as a player.
Jones was traded to Chicago in July 2021 in a blockbuster that ultimately brought Cole Sillinger, Adam Boqvist, Jake Bean and David Jiricek to the Blue Jackets. Domi signed with the Blackhawks last summer as a free agent, after being dealt to Carolina at last season’s trade deadline and finishing the season there.
Jones and Domi were welcomed back to Nationwide Arena for the first time since their departures with a combined video montage in the first period. Jones was cheered and Domi drew boos after fans took offense to a recent comment about his family wanting to visit him in Chicago for Christmas after not visiting him for Christmas during two seasons in Columbus.
Max Domi on Christmas break: "I'm pretty excited, actually. My whole family's here. I was in Columbus for two years, so I didn't get many visitors. All of a sudden I'm in a nice city, so my whole family wants to come. I don't know if it's me or the city."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) December 22, 2022
Domi’s father, Ty, actually did visit him in Columbus frequently and Ty's wife attended Ohio State. The rest of Domi’s family? Not so much. They never got to Ohio’s capital to visit him, which was partly due to those seasons being heavily affected by COVID-19 restrictions.
“It’s probably just the fact that we were in the middle of the pandemic and it is what it is,” Domi said after practice Friday in Columbus. “My dad came down quite a bit. He loved it here. His wife went to Ohio State. It was blown out of proportion, but I don’t mind it. I’ve got thick skin, so people can attack me all they want with it. But just to clear things up, I really did enjoy my time here in Columbus.”
Jones did too, even though his exit was prompted by his own desire to explore the open market as an unrestricted free agent. Jones didn’t make his initial return to Columbus last season because he tested positive for COVID-19 the day of the game, so this was a delayed homecoming.
“There’s still kind of that little aura (of returning), but it does feel a little bit different — a little more removed,” Jones said. “Last year, I was all pumped up and I got the call (to leave the ice) halfway through the morning skate.”
Jones and Domi, fittingly, were the only two Blackhawks back to defend at 3:50 of the second period Saturday when Gustav Nyquist put the Blue Jackets up 2-1 on a followup of Jack Roslovic’s shot.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Takeaways from Columbus Blue Jackets' win over Chicago Blackhawks
