The wild and wacky.
Those are words to define the 2025-26 Columbus Blue Jackets in their 25th anniversary season.
From countless third-period malfunctions to milestones, shootout wins, a coaching change, and now a seven-game winning streak, the Blue Jackets are riding the tale of two seasons right now as we sit at the Olympic break.
We go through five of the most unhinged wins this season, taking a look at some of the huge victories the Jackets most desperately needed.
Oct. 11 at Minnesota
© Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
It didn't take long for the Blue Jackets to get one of their wildest — no pun intended — games of the season.
Coming off a 2-1 opening night loss two nights earlier in Nashville, Columbus and the Minnesota Wild combined for 11 goals, including six combined third-period goals as the Blue Jackets beat the Wild 7-4.
Things were relatively calm after a 1-0 first period in which Miles Wood scored his first as a Jacket. Kirill Marchenko scored a hat trick in this one, including his goal seven seconds into the second period, going down as the fastest goal to start a period in franchise history.
Elvis Merzlikins made 48 saves and was the Second Star of the Night as Columbus picked up its first win of the season.
The loss is one of 14 regulation losses for the 38-14-10 Wild, who are five points behind the league-best Colorado Avalanche.
Nov. 13 Vs Edmonton
© Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images
Just two games and three nights earlier against these same Edmonton Oilers, the Jackets let a two-goal, 3-1 third-period lead slip away as the Oilers tied the game, with the tying goal coming with 58 seconds left in regulation. Old friend Jack Roslovic completed the comeback 56 seconds into overtime.
It's a loss that stings. That's a game you look back on if you miss the playoffs by a point or two.
So, when the two teams reconvened in Columbus later that week, the Blue Jackets knew they needed two points at all costs.
Columbus found themselves in a similar situation, up 4-2 in the third period, and they were able to get the fifth goal with Mathieu Olivier's third of the year to make it 5-2. Game over, right?
Vasily Podkolzin cuts the lead to 5-3.
— Oilersnation.com, Oily Since 07 (@OilersNation) November 14, 2025
: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/vhlBRhvzEd
The Oilers grabbed the next two goals, with Vasily Podkolzin scoring 27 seconds after Olivier's. Leon Draisaitl scored 3:30 later to make it 5-4 and make everyone in the building wonder if the same exact thing was going to happen.
Instead, the Blue Jackets closed it out and hung on for the 5-4 win.
Dec. 4 Vs Detroit
© Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images
Sensing a theme, the Jackets had trouble putting away a 3-1 third-period lead in Detroit on Nov. 22 at Little Caesars Arena. The Wings tied the game and won 4-3 in overtime.
Five games later at Nationwide Arena, the Jackets beat the Wings 6-5 in a shootout.
Ivan Provorov scored first to give Columbus a 1-0 lead through one period. Then, both teams each scored three goals in the second period, giving the Jackets a narrow 4-3 lead going into the third period.
Patrick Kane tied the game, and Alex DeBrincat gave the Wings their first lead at 11:38 of the third.
Adam Fantilli tied the score late to force overtime, and Columbus was able to get the second point.
NEVER A DOUBT WHEN KJ'S IN THE SHOOTOUT!
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 5, 2025
CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/5SRj8uGfmf
Jan. 17 At Pittsburgh
© Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images
Columbus and Pittsburgh each won road games at the other's building this season. The Jackets blew two prior third-period leads against the Penguins at Nationwide Arena, as the Blue Jackets could have won all three games leading into the fourth and final game on Jan. 17 in Pittsburgh.
The third game in the Rick Bowness era and first road game for the Bowness-led Jackets, the magic continued as Columbus found its way in a shootout.
Pittsburgh led the game 2-1 after one. The Jackets led 3-2 after two. Sidney Crosby, of all people, tied the game at 18:59 of the third. Kent Johnson and Charlie Coyle scored the shootout goals for Columbus.
COYLE WINS IT IN THE SHOOTOUT
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 18, 2026
CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/xEwUSfGsyB
Danton Heinen, acquired in December for Egor Chinakhov, was the First Star of the Night with a goal for Columbus. Chinakhov scored for Pittsburgh in the shootout. It was the first time in franchise history that the Blue Jackets won twice in Pittsburgh in a season.
This might have been the game that really helped Columbus believe early on under Bowness, as the win made it three straight victories to kick off the new era.
Jan. 24 Vs Tampa Bay
© Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
This game was insane. And it occurred just a week after the Pittsburgh one.
Columbus led a red-hot Lightning team 4-2 after the first period. Fantilli and Dmitri Voronkov scored late in the first period to extend the lead.
The Lightning tied the game in the first 4:48 of the second. Mason Marchment and Coyle scored the two back-half goals of the frame to put the Jackets on top 6-4 heading into the third.
Sean Monahan scored with the empty net to make it 7-4 at 14:55. Jake Guentzel cut the lead back to two, and Marchment, the First Star of the Game with four points (three goals, one assist), scored the hat trick with another empty netter to make it 8-5 and the final.
Marchment became the first Blue Jacket to score eight goals in his first nine games with the franchise.
Coyle, in his 1,001st game, scored his 200th career goal. The three-point (one goal, two assists) night kicked off a three-game string in which he recorded multi-point games to give him nine points (five goals, four assists) over a three-game stretch. The eight Blue Jackets goals set a season high for the club, and it was the most goals scored against the Lightning in a game in the all-time series.
Zach Werenski has factored on two of six @BlueJacketsNHL goals so far, and matched a franchise record in the process. #NHLStats
— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) January 25, 2026
Tune in : https://t.co/dT34F4MhkC pic.twitter.com/xcFYjdDLzd
The loss for the Lightning ended a 15-game streak without a regulation loss. It marked the second time this season Columbus ended someone's double-digit point streak, as they ended the Buffalo Sabres' 10-game winning streak on Jan. 3.
#CBJ have snapped 2 opponents' double-digit points streak this season (TBL-15 and BUF-10).
— CBJ Public Relations (@BlueJacketsPR) January 25, 2026
It marks the 2nd-time in Blue Jackets history that the club has snapped multiple opponents points streaks of 10+ games in a single campaign (2016-17; MIN-13, MTL-10, PIT-10).#NHLStats
Tampa is 19-1-1 since Dec. 20. Columbus is 11-1-0 since Jan. 11.
