Getting hot.
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0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
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CBJ GOALS: |
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Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson each scored and had an assist as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena for their third straight win.
Charlie Coyle and Zach Werenski added goals for the Blue Jackets.
Elvis Merzlikins, the First Star of the Game with 30 saves, won his first game since Dec. 4.
"I'm happy," Merzlikins said. "It took me a while to win a game. It means a lot to me for confidence for myself, and the boys did an amazing job."
Bock Boeser scored for Vancouver. Kevin Lankinen made 32 saves.
Erik Gudbrandson returned for the Blue Jackets for the first time since Oct. 25 after missing the previous 38 games with a hip injury. Dysin Mayo was loaned to the Cleveland Monsters.
Coyle started the scoring for Columbus as he went forehand, backhand, and roof past Lankinen in the first period on the power play. Coyle drew the penalty to set up the man-advantage.
Marchenko and Werenski’s second-period goals put Columbus ahead 3-0. Werenski's goal came on the power play, as Columbus went 2-for-2 with the man-advantage.
Brock Boeser snapped a career-long 22-game goalless drought in the second period to get Vancouver on the board. Johnson's third-period tally gave him his first goal since Jan. 8, and his two-point night is his first multi-point game since Dec. 16.
"I really liked (Merzlikins') game," head coach Rick Bowness said. "I thought he was solid and calm. I really liked his game. But we want to take away the speed coming through the middle, and we want to protect the front of that net.
"And if you do that, we'll give them the outside shot all day."
Rick Bowness with a short, direct answer when asked about the teams struggles in the third period this season.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 16, 2026
Thats in the past.#CBJ
Here's how the Blue Jackets got another two points:
1st Period:
(17:25 — CBJ Goal): A trio of players stayed hot and continued three-game point streaks.
Coyle's power play goal (10) to put the Jackets ahead 1-0 gave him four goals in the last three games, and the assists went to Kirill Marchenko (23) and Adam Fantilli (18). Marchenko has four assists in his last three games, and Fantilli has an assist in each of his last three games.
Just a GORGEOUS goal youll see from Charlie Coyle#CBJ pic.twitter.com/8gXmQTc0Ly https://t.co/UPPZ2OGtA6
— xz* - Joseph (@HockeyJoseph10) January 16, 2026
2nd Period:
(5:49 — CBJ Goal): Marchenko’s 17th, unassisted, came off an amazing individual effort, deking and juking Canucks defenders, giving Columbus the 2-0 lead.
Phenomenal individual effort from Kirill Marchenko to double the #CBJ lead. He gets his 17th goal of the season; it ties him with Z for the team lead.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 16, 2026
Marchy's en fuego right now: 13 points in 10 games (plus tonight) since the holiday break.pic.twitter.com/41MBhcwpFK
(10:14 — CBJ Goal): Werenski’s 18th, assisted by Kent Johnson (9), extended Werenski’s home point streak to 16 games and put Columbus ahead 3-0.
Four minutes, 25 seconds: that's how long Kirill Marchenko had tied Zach Werenski for the team lead in goals.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 16, 2026
Werenski's 18th of the season here regains that lead. He's now on a 16-game home point streak; 6 away from his 22-game heater last season. #CBJpic.twitter.com/PDDRjeO7JJ
#CBJ coach Rick Bowness interrupts a question about Zach Werenski as a player by stopping the question and saying, no,no,no and elite player.
— Dave Maetzold (@DMaetzMedia) January 16, 2026
(14:09 — VAN Goal): Boeser’s power play goal (10) stopped the bleeding for the Canucks and made it 3-1. Elias Pettersson (16) and Zeev Buium (15) picked up the assists.
Zeev Buium & Elias Pettersson get the assist on Brock Boeser's 1st goal since Nov 28th pic.twitter.com/Y5yQqjxCLC
— Bik Nizzar (@BikNizzar) January 16, 2026
3rd Period:
(10:14 — CBJ Goal): Johnson might be feeling it. After playing a season-high 20:55 on Tuesday, he scored his fifth goal to make it 4-1. Boone Jenner (16) got his 200th career assist on the goal. Damon Severson (15) also got the assist.
Is anyone happier than Kent Johnson right now? He led all forwards in minutes Tuesday night in a strong effort, and now tonight has his 5th goal of the season.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 16, 2026
This one boosted the #CBJ lead to 4-1.
Kent might be back.pic.twitter.com/vB0VbOekRm
| VAN | GAME STATS | CBJ |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | SHOTS | 36 |
| 54.9% | FACEOFFS | 45.1% |
| 1/2 | POWER PLAY | 2/2 |
| 0/2 | PENALTY KILL | 1/2 |
| 11 | HITS | 19 |
| 18 | GIVEAWAYS | 10 |
| 6 | TAKEAWAYS | 6 |
| 18 | BLOCKED SHOTS | 15 |
| ALL SITUATIONS ADVANCED STATS | ||
| 59 | SHOT ATTEMPTS | 79 |
| 27 | SCORING CHANCES | 44 |
| 13 | HIGH-DANGER CHANCES | 21 |
| Data via NHL.com & NaturalStatTrick.com | ||
Stat Chat:
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Home teams in the season series have won 11 of the last 12 and 10 straight. Vancouver won the first meeting 4-3 on Nov. 8 at Rogers Arena.
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With a goal, Werenski extended his home point streak to an aforementioned 16 straight games (12 goals, 18 assists).
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Milestone watch: Thursday’s game was No. 997 for Coyle. His goal was the 199th of his career.
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Columbus had allowed four straight goals on the penalty kill before their third-period kill.
- Lankinen falls to 9-4-1 in his career versus Columbus.
Up Next:
The Blue Jackets head to the Steel City on Saturday, Jan. 17, to face the Pittsburgh Penguins for the regular season series finale. Puck drop from PPG Paints Arena is set for 7 p.m.
