COLUMBUS, Ohio — A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Columbus Blue Jackets:

Item No. 1: Victimized

There isn’t a more frightening sight in the NHL. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, maybe the most powerful skater the league has ever known, gathered the puck in the neutral zone and began gathering speed as he entered the Blue Jackets’ zone.

Defenseman Denton Mateychuk, who turned 21 in July and hasn’t yet played a full season of games, was McDavid’s next victim, and the play developed, oddly, both in slow motion and as a blur.

McDavid faked a cut to the inside and instead pulled off a spin-o-rama the other direction, essentially screwing Mateychuk ankle-deep into the ice. McDavid then whipped the puck past goaltender Jet Greaves off his backhand.

This happened last Monday in Edmonton’s come-from-behind 5-4 overtime win over the Blue Jackets, and it was the most-watched hockey highlight of the week.

 

“I’ve seen that it’s on (TV), but I haven’t watched it that many times,” Mateychuk said with a smile. “But I remember it in my head mostly.

“I’ve had quite a few texts about it. Family, friends.  It happens. It’s part of the game. You look forward to a matchup like that, and when something like that happens, it’s a little unfortunate. But the nice thing is, you get to play again the next night, and you get to play against him a few nights later.”

That’s what so impressed Blue Jackets players and coaches.

That was a rough night in Edmonton for just about every player in a Blue Jackets sweater, but Mateychuk shook off a play that could easily have rattled him. The Blue Jackets won the next night in Seattle, then came home and beat Edmonton on Thursday in Nationwide Arena.

Mateychuk scored in the rematch with the Oilers. In Saturday’s 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Rangers, Mateychuk played a career-high 25 minutes, 43 seconds.

McDavid has done this to the Blue Jackets before, of course.

On Feb. 2, 2016, he split defenseman Jack Johnson and Justin Falk off a breathtaking rush. Johnson tried to hit him and whiffed. Falk tried the same from the other direction and ended up launching himself out of the highlight entirely.

It replayed on a loop in Canada for weeks.

Blue Jackets veteran Zach Werenski had a message for Mateychuk, he said, one that is born from experience.

“Every defenseman has gone through it in their careers,” Werenski said. “I’ve gone through it against guys who aren’t McDavid. When you play a lot of games and a lot of minutes, it just happens.

“He did a great job of just forgetting about it and playing a great game in Seattle. He made some huge plays for us. That’s the type of player and person he is, too. Those aren’t fun as a defenseman, but it was unbelievable the way he handled it.”

Mateychuk was 11 years old when McDavid made his debut in 2015-16. He’s watched hundreds of games on TV, seen more than a few in person, and had several talks with NHL veterans about how best to play against the league’s most terrifying player.

“But being on the ice with him, yeah, it’s definitely different,” Mateychuk said. “He gets to you so quick, you don’t have time to process it. He never looks down, so he’s always reading the ice, scouting (the situation). Next thing you know, you’re eye to eye with him and you can’t tell where he’s going.

“It wasn’t fun to go through. We lost. That’s tough. But it’s an experience, right? It was my first time playing against him, and you know it’s going to be an experience.”

Item No. 2: Missing Boone

Once again, the Blue Jackets are facing a long stretch of games without captain Boone Jenner in the lineup.

Jenner suffered an upper-body injury in the first period of Tuesday’s 2-1 shootout win in Seattle. He tried to play through the injury, but lasted only one shift before heading back to the dressing room. He was placed on injured reserve on Saturday.

Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell told The Athletic that Jenner’s injury will not require surgery, and that there is not yet any official timeline. But, Waddell said, it’s more likely a week-to-week injury than month to month.

It’s a tough blow for a Blue Jackets club that has struggled to find its footing so far this season.

“We’ve got a lot of leaders in that room,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “Boone is a huge part of our group, our identity, all of those things. He drives our work ethic, no question. But we have a lot of guys who can do that.”

The Blue Jackets have significant experience playing without Jenner in recent seasons. Over the previous five seasons, Jenner has missed 132 games, including 56 games at the start of last season following a shoulder injury.

He hasn’t gone a season without missing double-digit games since the 2019-20 season, when the Blue Jackets last made the playoffs. And with Waddell’s “week-to-week” prognosis, he may well miss 10 or more games this season.

“(Boone) is the guy we all lean on and look up to … the guy we follow,” Werenski said. “But it’s one of those things where, we dealt with this last year. I don’t want to say we’re used to it, because you never get used to it. He’s our captain.

“But it’s the next-man-up mentality. That’s what we did last season and that’s what we’re doing now. We have depth in here, skill and talent. We’re going to play our game and see where it goes, and hope he’s back as soon as possible.”

Jenner, 32, is in the final year of his contract, with unrestricted free agency a possibility next summer. Both Jenner and Waddell have said that the desire is to have Jenner finish his career with Columbus, where he’s spent 13 seasons.

If the Blue Jackets drift out of the playoff contention, his name would spark considerable interest across the league. Even in previous seasons, when the Blue Jackets made it clear that they had no desire to trade him, NHL clubs came calling.

The injuries are becoming a concern, though.

Without Jenner, the Blue Jackets have had to get creative on their top two lines. He had been playing in the top six all season, and this type of injury is exactly the reason Waddell has been reluctant to trade Yegor Chinakhov.

But in the two games since Jenner has been injured, Evason has kept Chinakhov on the fourth line and elevated Luca Del Bel Belluz to play with center Sean Monahan and winger Kent Johnson.

Del Bel Belluz, who started the season with AHL Cleveland, was recalled during the most recent road trip.

Item No. 3: Take 5, Marc Denis

“Take 5” is our weekly brief and (mostly) non-hockey conversation with a (former) Blue Jackets player, coach, broadcaster or staffer. This week, it’s inaugural-season goaltender Marc Denis, now a broadcaster with RDS Network in Canada:

Where do you call home, and why?

I’m back in Montreal now for a few years. This is my 14th season being a color commentator and broadcaster for the Montreal Canadiens. The boys have moved out to attend university, so we sold our house in the suburbs and my wife and I live about a kilometer from the Bell Centre. I can walk there for games.

What’s your funniest on-air moment?

We’ve had some, uh, interactions on the bench. (laughs) I don’t want to put names out there, but there have been interactions that just can’t go on the air. You always listen back to it before it goes on the air, and sometimes we go … “Yeah, that can’t go on the air.” Expletives. A coach not wanting to answer questions. Stuff like that. It’s gotten better in recent seasons, I will say that.

As a former player, you understand, right?

I do. Absolutely. I don’t forget that I played. I know what side I’m on now, but the former player in me… I definitely understand. I can relate to it, too, being in the heat of the battle. What’s really awkward is, I’m between the benches. We’re really close to players. There are times where we have to criticize players and they’re standing right there. This is a tough market in Montreal. It never gets personal, but sometimes you have to point out a mistake a player made.

Do you have a favorite Blue Jackets memory?

Being a part of the first win at home (Oct. 27, 2000, vs. Washington) was special, to be a part of that. The other was setting the NHL record (for minutes played in a season) was really cool, and getting to set that at home against Detroit. (New Jersey legend) Marty (Brodeur) took that record right back, but on a personal level that was tremendous. The biggest thing for me, though, is that Columbus still feels like home. Our kids were born here, we spent six seasons here. It’s special to us. I still visit friends here. We’ve stayed in touch. They’re coming to Montreal when the Blue Jackets play, to see us.

Do you have an unpopular opinion?

Hmm. I have stayed true to loving country music, and that took a little while for people to come around to in Quebec, especially. My unpopular opinion has gotten popular now. I stuck to my guns. Luke Combs is coming to Montreal for a concert in May. I already have my tickets for that. I remember putting the country radio station on here and driving to the rink. It was Toby Keith, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw. I can’t say I go back to Kenny Rogers and George Strait.

Item No. 4: Snacks

• Kirill Marchenko’s assist on Dmitry Voronkov’s power-play goal on Saturday extended his career-long point streak to 11 games, tied with Patrik Laine (Jan. 27-Feb. 24, 2022) for the third-longest in franchise history. With a point on Monday against the Montreal Canadiens, Marchinko would match Cam Atkinson (Nov. 10-Dec. 6, 2018) for the second-longest streak. The franchise record is held by Ryan Johanson, who had a 14-game streak from Dec. 18 to Jan. 17 during the 2014-15 season. Marchenko had 3-10-13 during his streak, which began on Oct. 25.

• Saturday’s game marked Evason’s 100th game as coach of the Blue Jackets. He’s 49-40-11, a .545 points percentage that ranks second among Columbus coaches in their first 100 games behind the bench. John Tortorella, who started 50-28-12 (.560), leads the way, followed by Todd Richards (47-44-9, .515), Ken Hitchcock (44-44-12, .500), Brad Larsen (44-48-8, .480), Scott Arniel (37-48-15, .445), Gerard Gallant (38-55-7, .415) and Dave King (32-49-19, .415).

• Blue Jackets forward Miles Wood is now 0-for-3 on penalty shots in his career after coming up empty in the first period on Saturday. Wood was slashed on a breakaway by Rangers forward Taylor Raddysh, who tripped him up and sent him hard into the goalpost before he came to a rest along the end boards. Wood’s attempt was easily denied by Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin. His previous penalty shots: Nov. 19, 2016 vs. Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck, and Nov. 4, 2017 vs. Calgary’s Mike Smith.

• The Blue Jackets on Saturday welcomed back former players Matt Calvert, Denis, Brandon Dubinsky and David Vyborny, honoring all four with the ceremonial puck drop before the game against the Rangers. It’s the second installment in the Blue Jackets’ season-long celebration of their 25th anniversary as a franchise.

• Early in the 2002-03 season, Vyborny watched a few games as a healthy scratch, and there were reports that he was pondering a return to Europe after struggling to produce offensively the first two seasons. But Vyborny revealed on Saturday that he had a contract offer from Russia — between $3 million and $4 million, tax free, he said — that he pondered only briefly. “I wanted to stay here and try it again, again,” Vyborny said. “And I did it. Not everything is about the money, you know.” And then Vyborny laughed and said, “But $3 million or $4 million is a lot of money.” Over the next four seasons, he averaged 20-37-57, leading the Blue Jackets in scoring in both 2005-06 and 2006-07. Sadly, his final NHL season was 2007-08, and he returned to his native Czechia to play in 2008-09 … just missing the Blue Jackets’ first playoff berth as a franchise.

• As Blue Jackets fans would expect, the always outspoken Dubinsky came out swinging in his press gathering before the game. Dubinsky, who has settled his family in the Columbus suburbs of Dublin, is a real-estate developer and owns a luxury transportation company. He also coaches youth hockey, including his three sons. Asked what it’s like to be a coach now, Dubinsky said. “It’s fun, but it’s painful, because we don’t have enough sheets of ice.” Asked if any of his three sons have adopted his combative, physical style of play, Dubinsky cracked: “No, they’re all soft. I think it was growing up in Dublin.”

• Here’s your Blue Jackets Monday Gathering trivia question: The Blue Jackets are 16 of 46 (34.8 percent) all-time on penalty shots, including Wood’s on Saturday. Who was the last Blue Jackets player to score on a penalty shot?

• The Blue Jackets made their annual trip to Nationwide Children’s Hospital on Friday, But with so many players fighting head colds and the flu, a group of players was unable to attend. Veteran center Charlie Coyle, who was one of those players, said they’d already discussed finding a date in the near future to visit.

• Goaltender Ivan Fedotov has settled in with AHL Cleveland, the first time he’s played in the North American minor leagues. But it’s been a hectic first month. Fedotov raced from Cleveland to New Jersey a few days before the Monsters opened the season, arriving just in time to witness the birth of his first son, Timofey. Two weeks later, after Fedotov had made a few trips home between games, the entire family was able to relocate to Cleveland.

• If there’s one complaint about his AHL experience, Fedotov said, it’s the Monsters’ schedule: it’s not busy enough. Cleveland has played only 11 games in the first 40 days of the season, tied for the fewest in the league. When you consider that those 11 games included five back-to-back sets, it’s a challenge for the No. 1 goaltender to get enough work. Case in point, this weekend: Fedotov made 28 saves in a 3-2 loss in Chicago on Saturday, while Zach Sawchenko got the start on Sunday. In seven starts, Fedotov is 2-3-2 with a .904 save percentage and one shutout.

• Blue Jackets prospect center Cayden Lindstrom, the No. 4 overall pick in 2024, missed Michigan State’s weekend series against Notre Dame due to a sore groin.

• Trivia answer: Cam Atkinson was the last Blue Jacket to score on a penalty shot, beating Carolina’s Alex Nedeljkovic in a 3-2 Columbus win on Feb. 8, 2021, in Nationwide. Since then, Oliver Bjorkstrand (Feb. 23, 2021, vs. Chicago), Emil Bemstrom (March 13, 2021, vs. Dallas), Gustav Nyquist (Dec. 7, 2022, vs. Buffalo), Johnny Gaudreau (Jan. 23, 2023 at Calgary), Zach Werenski (Jan. 25, 2025, vs. Los Angeles) and Wood have come up empty.