{"id":445969,"date":"2026-02-04T23:16:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T23:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/445969\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T23:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T23:16:17","slug":"blue-jackets-gameday-news-notes-bowness-lundestrom-foligno-more-the-hockey-writers-columbus-blue-jackets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/445969\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jackets Gameday News & Notes: Bowness, Lundestrom, Foligno & More – The Hockey Writers – Columbus Blue Jackets"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a> are ready to attack their last game before the Olympic break. They get a return date with the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night at Nationwide Arena. With a win, the Blue Jackets would go into the break with a 10-1 record since head coach Rick Bowness took over. <\/p>\n

The Blue Jackets are coming off a big 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night<\/a>. Mathieu Olivier scored twice while Elvis Merzlikins pitched a 23-save shutout. Dante Fabbro scored the game-winning goal in his return to the lineup.<\/p>\n

We begin this edition of News and Notes by talking about the state of the defense. With Fabbro back, the Blue Jackets have eight defensemen available to play. How will Bowness handle that?<\/p>\n

Six Defensemen Set For Now<\/p>\n

The Blue Jackets will eventually need their depth on defense especially when injuries come up. But for now, the team has their top-six clearly identified in the sight of Bowness.<\/p>\n

The six defensemen who played Tuesday night are the Blue Jackets\u2019 top-six, Bowness confirmed. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe consider top-six playing to be our top-six guys,\u201d Bowness said. \u201cSo when you have that, then you have to make an adjustment. (Fabbro) played left side last night. He looked fine. Would we prefer three right, three lefties? Yeah, but it\u2019s the way that the team is structured, the way that the D is built. The best look we can throw out is what we threw out last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that being said, could there be changes down the road? Absolutely. But we really liked what we saw last night and we\u2019ll continue with that until we don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RickRick Bowness has identified who the top-six defensemen are for now. (Photo: Mark Scheig\/The Hockey Writers)<\/p>\n

This will mean Jake Christiansen and Egor Zamula will have to wait their turn to play. With the Olympic break coming up, they\u2019ll have to wait an extended period of time until they see the ice again in a game. Just takes one change to have them in. But this will be worth watching as the Blue Jackets go into the grind of a playoff race to see how this play out. <\/p>\n

Werenski\u2019s Ice Time<\/p>\n

Another thing Bowness talked about on Wednesday morning was Zach Werenski\u2019s ice time being reduced somewhat especially in back-to-back games. The head coach confirmed this was an intentional move to try to keep the defenseman fresher. Here is what was said about that.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially the night before. (They) did a good job last night of keeping him under 23 minutes and I talked to Zach about that. We\u2019d prefer to be down in that range. He\u2019s going to be more effective. He\u2019s not going to be tired. The 22-23 minutes is ideal for him. Now, that being said, if the game\u2019s on the line and we need him to play 27, we know he can respond to that. But we don\u2019t want to get into 20 minutes after two periods so we\u2019re trying to avoid it. So if we need him for those six of the last 10 minutes, he\u2019s able to give us those minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Werenski has consistently been among the NHL leaders in ice time over the recent past. In the heat of a playoff race, Bowness has identified an opportunity to limit Werenski\u2019s minutes some so he can be fresh and available when the need arises.<\/p>\n

Lundestrom Trusted by Bowness<\/p>\n

Saturday in St. Louis, Bowness talked about how much he liked what Isac Lundestrom brought to the team. The coach appreciated the role Lundestrom plays acting as a \u201c10th man\u201d being able to play all over the lineup. <\/p>\n

Lundestrom says he tries to be the same player he\u2019s always been but acknowledges it\u2019s fun to hear Bowness talk him up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been the same player,\u201d Lundestrom said. \u201cI want to probably not do the most points and everything like that. But I want to get every detail right and try to be good defensively. I want to be trusted out there (so) they can put me in different situations. It\u2019s always fun to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundestrom is a defensive first player. He won\u2019t cheat the game. He plays in a way where he tries to stay on the right side of the puck. But he thinks he can add offensively too. He scored a goal Saturday night to get the Blue Jackets on the board. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I played at home in Sweden, I think I was a little bit more of an offensive player,\u201d Lundestrom said. \u201cAt the same time, I want to be responsible defensively. First, I try to keep the puck and not throw it away. I think I\u2019m pretty solid at protecting the puck and I skate pretty good. I think I could definitely use that (part of my game) a little bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ColumbusIsac Lundestrom is gaining confidence under coach Bowness. (Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Lundestrom started on the top line Tuesday night but finished on the fourth line with Boone Jenner and Miles Wood. He explains why that is an effective line.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey think the same way,\u201d Lundestrom said of his linemates. \u201cThey\u2019re both good skaters and play a simple game. We understand each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundestrom will be on the fourth line most nights but if the need for a shake up arises, Bowness has said he will put Lundestrom in different spots in the lineup. He seems to be getting more comfortable with each passing day.<\/p>\n

Same Old Foligno in Chicago<\/p>\n

Anyone that\u2019s followed Nick Foligno\u2019s career knows that lately, he\u2019s been a mentor given his veteran status. He\u2019s been instrumental in helping the likes of Connor Bedard and others get comfortable in the NHL.<\/p>\n

Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill opened up on Wednesday about what all Foligno has meant to the room. He will return to the lineup on Wednesday to play against his former team.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe brings unreal perspective,\u201d Blashill said. \u201cObviously been in the league a long time, been around the game forever. I think he\u2019s an excellent leader. I think he\u2019s done a great job being, I\u2019ve asked him to be kind of a papa bear with our young players to help them in their growth. I think he does a good job of being an extension of the coaching staff in a lot of different ways. He\u2019s been an important player for us as well. I can\u2019t say enough good things about him as a human being number one and then as a leader. He\u2019s done an excellent job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foligno hosted the Blackhawks at his house in Columbus for a get together on Tuesday. He continues to do everything he can to mentor the next wave of players on his team. That part of him has never changed no matter what jersey he\u2019s put on.<\/p>\n

Side Dishes<\/p>\n

Jet Greaves will start against the Blackhawks on Wednesday night. With a win, he\u2019d improve to a perfect 5-0-0 under Bowness.<\/p>\n

Kirill Marchenko skated this morning. Bowness said his status would be determined based on that. We\u2019ll see at warmups for sure, but all indications point to Marchenko playing against the Blackhawks.<\/p>\n

The Blue Jackets will have an Olympic sendoff for both Werenski and Elvis Merzlikins as part of the festivities on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

\"SUBSCRIBE<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Columbus Blue Jackets are ready to attack their last game before the Olympic break. They get a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426042,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5108],"tags":[3644,5180,897,230,5179,5,4529,693,1944,4,5851,12090],"class_list":{"0":"post-445969","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-columbus-blue-jackets","8":"tag-blue-jackets","9":"tag-bluejackets","10":"tag-columbus","11":"tag-columbus-blue-jackets","12":"tag-columbusbluejackets","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-isac-lundestrom","15":"tag-jet-greaves","16":"tag-kirill-marchenko","17":"tag-nhl","18":"tag-nick-foligno","19":"tag-rick-bowness"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116014913754116116","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}