At 5-4, the Columbus Blue Jackets are starting to find their footing in the early part of the 2025-26 NHL season. Columbus has seen growth in some areas and decline in other areas. So what are the positives and negatives from the early going, and are there trends that will continue? Yes, and no, either way, there is room for improvement.
With a 9.52% on the penalty kill, that is good enough for second-to-last in the entire NHL. This is an area of concern, even though the season is not yet a month old. The Blue Jackets struggle to push teams out of the way, allowing them to crash in towards and around the goalie, which is not ideal. The best two games the PK has looked alright in were against Dallas and Buffalo. Last season, the Columbus PK was ranked 22nd, so there is room for improvement.
The play of both D-Denton Mateychuk and F-Dmitri Voronkov has been very noticeable in good ways. Mateychuk has been more physical and better at bringing the puck through the neutral zone. It is his play along the boards where Mateychuk has been much better. Joining in piles to get to the puck, pushing players out of the way, has earned the second year defensive player a promotion to the top line with Zach Werenski.
Dmitri Voronkov did and did not encounter a sophomore slump last season; the forward was inconsistent. Voronkov showed up for training camp in better shape, and his play has been very consistent. 5-goals, 4- assist and 9-points with a +/- of 7 do not tell the whole story. Voronkov has been a force in front of the net on the power play.
The Blue Jackets lead the NHL in 5v5 goals and are getting goals at critical points of games. The good news is that after a difficult schedule to start the season, November lightens up.
If the Blue Jackets can improve the PK and show the fight that has kept and won them games when they have fallen behind, the team will be just fine. The good has outweighed the bad and the hope is with consistent play things will only get better.
Cover Photo Credit: Columbus Blue Jackets/NHL
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