New Coach, New Life: Rick Bowness Igniting A Blue Jackets Revival

When the Columbus Blue Jackets decided to make a coaching change, some might have thought it was a little too late.

After all, the Blue Jackets were over halfway through the season with 45 games in the rearview mirror, a 19-19-7 record with 45 points, and last place in the Eastern Conference. They were 28th of 32 teams in the overall NHL standings.

In fact, Friday's opponent, the Chicago Blackhawks, were 27th (19-20-7, 45 points) and Saturday's opponent, the St. Louis Blues, were 30th (17-21-8, 42 points) at the point the Blue Jackets made the change from Dean Evason.

Now, since Jan. 13, the Blue Jackets are first in the NHL (8-1-0, 16 points).

"You defend your way into the playoffs."– Blue Jackets Head Coach Rick Bowness

When the Rick Bowness era got underway on Jan. 13, Columbus beat the Calgary Flames 5-3. Then they beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-1. That made it three straight wins overall and a nice morale booster for everyone involved, from those in the organization to players on the ice to the fans watching a new team finding its way with its 13th head coach in franchise history.

On Jan. 16, we talked at the time about the upcoming stretch of games that would define the season for Columbus. A Columbus team that had preseason playoff expectations and was on life support, suddenly aiming to make good on a second chance. A new lease on life.

Since then?

Columbus fought to the bitter end against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout, winning 4-3 on Jan. 17 at PPG Paints Arena — a literal house of horrors for Columbus for the better part of a decade. At that point, Columbus was 3-0-0 under Bowness and on a four-game winning streak.

The coach bump was real, but how long could it last?

Their first stinker rose to the surface against the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 20. Elvis Merzlikins left the game with an illness. Overall, the team was flat and slow starting, catching Bowness' ire, and it was not the way to kick off that season-defining five-game homestand.

Something apparent with Bowness in charge of the Blue Jackets is his communication. Whether it's what he says, how he says it, or how much he's talking, the style and technique resonate with this team.

Zach Werenski to TNT on new coach Rick Bowness:

His communication is off the charts. I dont think Ive played for a coach thats as good of a communicator as he is. Ive had more conversations with him in two weeks than Ive had with any coach, ever. #CBJ

— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 29, 2026

When Blue Jackets broadcaster Jody Shelley asked Merzlikins what the difference was for the Blue Jackets after their third straight win, and second under Bowness, Merzlikins kept it short and sweet: "new coach."

3 wins in a row whats different for the Blue Jackets?

New coach. - Elvis Merzlikins pic.twitter.com/vKvUdIOkK1

— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) January 16, 2026

Because of the hole the Blue Jackets dug themselves into, it was going to take a big run to even get them back within playoff race conversation.

After that loss to Ottawa, Bowness made a point of speaking with Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko, and Cole Sillinger — four players who have never played in the playoffs — to essentially get them, as well as the team overall, to start playing playoff hockey.

After #CBJ practice today, Rick Bowness spoke with Fantilli, Johnson, Marchenko & Sillinger. Why? Bowness said those 4 have never played in the playoffs and he wants them to understand how hard they have to play to get to the post-season beginning tomorrow night. pic.twitter.com/d1OinxThNl

— Dave Maetzold (@DMaetzMedia) January 21, 2026

The response? A 1-0 win over the Dallas Stars on Jan. 22. Columbus swept the two-game season set from the Stars, outscoring them 6-1.

Columbus followed up that impressive victory with another one over the Tampa Bay Lightning, producing a season-best eight goals in an 8-5 win as Mason Marchment got a hat trick, ending the Lightning's 15-game point streak.

#CBJ coach Rick Bowness held a chat today with his top line -- Mason Marchment, Kirill Marchenko and Adam Fantilli. Bowness: "I want them to become one of the top lines in the league."

To Bowness, that means being able to play against all matchups, with and without the puck. pic.twitter.com/bQGqjTH3bX

— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) January 27, 2026

It's nice to see Columbus be able to play a starkly different and contrasting game and be able to win against top competition in consecutive games.

The Blue Jackets are 2-0-0 at home against the Lightning, with one more game in Tampa on Mar. 10.

The pivotal five-game homestand became a four-game homestand due to weather postponing Columbus' Jan. 26 date with the Los Angeles Kings until Mar. 9.

The Jackets closed out a successful 3-1-0 homestand with a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in a nationally televised TNT matchup on Jan. 28. It wasn't pretty as a 3-1 lead turned into a tie-game late, thanks to Travis Konency's hat trick. But Columbus, as they've done under Bowness, found a way to get two points.

Then they got four more points this weekend, beating the Blackhawks 4-2 on Friday and beating the Blues 5-3 on Saturday.

Columbus has won nine out of 10 and eight out of nine with Bowness at the helm.

Major contributors include Zach Werenski, a potential Norris favorite, as he co-leads all NHL defensemen with 60 points, and leads with 19 goals and 1.20 points per game.

Charlie Coyle, who has never missed the playoffs in his 13-year career before this season, has been on a heater ever since playing in his 1000th career game.

His nine goals are second in the NHL since Jan. 11. Before Saturday's game, Coyle had nine points (five goals, four assists) over a three-game stretch, including a hat trick over the Blackhawks. He’s the third player in franchise history to put up nine points over a three-game span, joining David Vyborny (2004) and Artemi Panarin (2018).

Both Coyle (eight goals, five assists) and Werenski (three goals, 10 assists) co-lead the Blue Jackets with 13 points and 1.44 points per game since Jan. 13. They're top 12 in the NHL over that span. Marchenko (1.00) is also a point-per-game player over that span, and up next is Fantilli (0.78).

The Blue Jackets have seen an uptick in their scoring under Bowness, but just as importantly, they've defended better since the coaching change. That was the area of focus Bowness pointed to, going back to his Jan. 13 introductory press conference as he prepared for his first game behind the bench against the Flames hours later.

"When I look at the roster, and I did see a few of their games during the year, I always looked at that team and said, 'I think I can help that team,'" Bowness said. "They're better than their record shows.

"I look at that goals against," Bowness said. "I look at the shots against. I look at the penalty killing. I look at the slot chances against. I look at the rush chances against. There's the issue. Those issues will take you right out of the playoffs.

"You defend your way into the playoffs."

Coyle could be a legitimate Selke contender, awarded to the league's top defensive forward. In addition to Friday's hat trick, his defense helped keep Connor Bedard's line in check.

Rick Bowness was asked about Charlie Coyle's defense (as well as his hat trick), which also got Bowness talking about Connor Bedard: pic.twitter.com/GsF4qNNmPU

— Tracey Myers (@Tramyers_NHL) January 31, 2026

Merzlikins and Jet Greaves have both played well since the coaching change. Whether it's defending better in front like Bowness preaches, the goalies have seen fewer shots per game, from 30.9 to 28.6, moving the club from 30th to 18th.

According to Evolving-Hockey, Merzlikins has 5.37 goals saved above expected (all situations). Greaves has 3.53. In 5-on-5 situations, Greaves is at 4.43 while Merzlikins is at .19.

Winners of a season-high five straight, the 27-20-7 Blue Jackets have two more games before the Olympic break as they visit the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday and host the Blackhawks on Wednesday.

Columbus tied a franchise record for January with 10 wins (10-4-1) and 21 points (2025). They went 10-4-0 in 2014 and 10-3-1 in 2025.

They're up to fourth in the Metropolitan Division, four points behind the New York Islanders, and 9th in the Eastern Conference, six points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card spot.