The Blue Jackets’ spiral to the bottom of the NHL’s Eastern Conference continued Jan. 6 at SAP Center with a 4-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks to start a four-game road trip.
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Despite getting a strong effort from goalie Jet Greaves (31 saves) in his seventh straight start and outshooting the Sharks 18-9 in the third period, the Jackets dropped their second straight game while struggling to beat Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic (34 saves).
Jan 6, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli (19) takes a shot on goal against San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (33) in the first period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images
Zach Werenski and Sean Monahan scored the only goals for the Blue Jackets (18-17-7), who pulled within a goal at 3-2 on Monahan’s goal late in the third before the Sharks sealed the win on empty-net goals by Mario Ferraro and Macklin Celebrini.
Former Blue Jackets center Alex Wennberg factored into three goals for the Sharks (21-18-3), setting up two with assists and scoring a power-play goal for a 2-0 lead in the second. Pavol Regenda and Zack Ostapchuk scored the other two San Jose goals.
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Shots finished even at 36-36 after the Sharks finished the second period with a 17-6 edge and the Blue Jackets finished the third with a nine-shot edge.
Jan 6, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski (8) celebrates with the bench after scoring a goal in the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images
Ostapchuk gave the Sharks breathing room on a breakaway goal with 4:44 left in the third, putting them up 3-1, but Monahan made it 3-2 on the next shift to give the Blue Jackets a late push that was quickly stomped out. Ferraro’s empty-netter from his own zone made it 4-2, Celebrini’s into an empty net made it 5-2 and the Sharks won for the fourth time in the past five games.
The Blue Jackets, who played without forward Mason Marchment (upper-body injury) play the next three games of the trip with three tough matchups Jan. 8 at the Vegas Golden Knights, Jan. 10 at the Colorado Avalanche and Jan. 11 at the Utah Mammoth.
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Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets drop second in a row to open road trip against Sharks