The Blue Jackets will head into their holiday break on a positive note after beating the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 on the road last night.
The Jackets got an impressive all hands on-deck effort, putting forth one of their most complete games so far this season. The result was their first regulation win since December 1st, and only their third such victory since November 1st.
Newly acquired forward Mason Marchment scored twice, giving him three goals in just two games since being picked up from the Seattle Kraken on Friday. Then, the team took full advantage of a late power-play to put this one out of reach.
With 2 goals in his 2nd game, Mush is taking home the donkey for the holidays! 🫏 pic.twitter.com/rxotSG7szG
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 23, 2025Special night for special teams.
Last night’s game was decided on special teams. For once, the Blue Jackets were on the right side of things, going 3-for-7 on the power-play, while not conceding any goals in 5 LA Kings extra man opportunities.
The encouraging thing with the power-play was that the Jackets looked dangerous from a variety of different angles. This wasn’t a case of one player having a big night.
I thought they did a good job making smart passes and then firing timely shots on goal. They got one off of a deflection, and two others from slot chances; where Marchment and Kirill Marchenko each fired confident shots into the net.
With that said, the most impressive feat of the night was on the penalty kill, where they locked this game down. The Kings had only 3 shots on their 5 extra man chances, and Jet Greaves turned them all aside.
It’s a glimmer of progress from a team that needs to get both of its special teams units in line to win in this league.
They bent, but did not break.
If you are like me, you were just waiting for the Kings to find the equalizer in this one. We have seen this story play out so many times this year: the Jackets will play extremely well early, only to let the opposition off the mat late in the game.
That looked to be repeating itself last night. But, when the Kings scored late in the second period to make this a one goal game, the Jackets did not panic.
They got right back to work and stuck to their system, locking this one down and only allowing 7 shots in the third period. Then, they took advantage when the Kings took an ill-advised late penalty.
For the first time in as long as I can remember, they won the third period. Hopefully this is a sign of growth, and they can build off of this momentum.
They did it for Zach.
Zach Werenski missed last night’s game after taking a puck off of his foot in Anaheim on Saturday. The Jackets had to play without their best player, so we knew heading into this one that it would take a full team effort.
They did exactly that. I thought the team looked calm, composed, and cohesive in his absence. To a man, every skater stuck to his role and brought something to the table last night.
Side note: how about Denton Mateychuk playing 28:35, adding an assist and holding his own against one of the heaviest teams in the league? Torts would have loved this effort, it was ballsy.
This could be another sign of growth with this team. This is what it takes to win these tough matchups in the NHL on a consistent basis.
The Jackets can now enjoy their holiday break with a .500 record. They will not return to action until Sunday evening, when they host the New York Islanders at Nationwide.