Blue Jackets surging under new coach Bowness: ‘Starting to realize what we look like when we’re playing well’
The Columbus Blue Jackets were in the Eastern Conference cellar as recently as the beginning of January, ranking worst in the conference with 45 points after their game on January 11.
On Jan. 12, the team made a surprising move in dismissing head coach Dean Evason and replacing him with veteran bench boss Rick Bowness.
The new voice behind the bench seems to have made all the difference, as the Blue Jackets have rattled off wins in seven of eight games under Bowness and surged into the playoff conversation in the Eastern Conference entering play on Saturday.
“They’re starting to see what we look like when we’re playing well, and that’s important,” Bowness said before the Blue Jackets’ defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Friday.
Charlie Coyle scored a hat trick in the game, which was their fourth consecutive victory. The Blue Jackets now sit six points behind the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins for the third spot in the Metropolitan Division.
“They know our strengths, they know the things we’ll continue to work on and pound on, but they’re seeing it on the ice because I hear the comments on the bench. I hear them talking on the bench. So, they’re starting to realize what we look like when we’re playing well.”
Columbus has made sharp improvements in many areas in the eight games with Bowness behind the bench – whether small sample size can be thanked or not, their improvements in goals per game (2.91 under Evason vs. 3.88 under Bowness), goals allowed per game (3.38 under Evason vs. 2.63 under Bowness) and shots against per game (30.9 under Evason, 28.3 under Bowness) have led to a completely different looking team on the ice.
“The main focus was taking care of our net,” Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner said after Friday’s game to reporters. “We were giving up too many shots against and rushes against, and things like that are going to hurt you.
“I mean, the numbers are what they are. It’s going to be tough to get wins in this league consistently. It’s just the details on the defensive side of the puck and how we can play more with the puck. That was the main focus, and we’re trying to build off that.”
The Blue Jackets have also tended to start quicker recently: Columbus scored the opening goal in seven of eight games under Bowness, compared to 25 times of 45 games under Evason. Superstar defenceman Zach Werenski thinks that’s been a key factor in the recent turnaround.
“I think playing from behind, you can kind of sometimes end up chasing the game a little bit. So I feel for us, to get in front, just establish our game, get to the game we want to play, I feel like maybe we haven’t done that enough this year,” he said. “We’ve been doing it as of late, and it’s a big reason why we’re having success.”
Columbus is in the playoff conversation, but are still firmly on the outside looking in for a potential postseason berth.
“We haven’t done anything yet and you can never forget that. We haven’t done anything,” Bowness said. ”Yeah, we’ve won a few games. So what? We’re still chasing.
“You never lose that hunger to understand where we are and what we have to do to keep going forward. We’re not patting ourselves on the back by any stretch of the imagination, and we have no reason to. When you keep pushing and get that X by your name that you’re [qualified for the playoffs], then you can take a little bit of a breath.”
The Blue Jackets seek their first postseason appearance since the 2019-20 season.
