CBJ 4, CHI 2: Coyle's Hat Trick Leads The Way As Blue Jackets Win Fourth Straight

By Ed Francis on January 30, 2026 at 11:26 pm
Charlie Coyle had a hat trick, Zach Werenski and Mathieu Olivier had multi-point nights, and Elvis Merzlikins made 22 saves as the Columbus Blue Jackets rolled to a 4-2 win over Chicago.
© Matt Marton-Imagn Images
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  1 2 3 F
CBJ 1 2 1 4
CHI 1 1 0 2

CBJ GOALS: 
Coyle (PP) (1st, 19:13)
Coyle (2) (2nd, 1:23)
Olivier (2nd, 6:47)
Coyle (3) (3rd, 18:57)

The second hat trick of Charlie Coyle's career led the way for the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night in a 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

It was Columbus' eighth win in their last nine games.

Coyle started his four-point night with a power play goal in the final minute of the first period. After Chicago answered with just 2.7 seconds left on a goal by Connor Bedard, Coyle would get his second of the night just over a minute into the second period, putting the Blue Jackets up 2-1.

Columbus extended the lead to 3-2 just over five minutes later with Mathieu Olivier's sixth goal of the season.

Coyle picked up the primary assist on the goal.

The Blackhawks would again answer later in the frame, cutting the deficit to one by the end of the second.

It would be close as Chicago would get, as Elvis Merzlikins came up big in the third period, stopping all eight of the Blackhawks' shots on goal. 

Merzlikins finished with 22 saves on 24 shots for his fourth win in his last five starts.

With the net empty, Coyle completed his hat trick with 1:03 left in the game to put Columbus up two and send Chicago to their fifth straight loss.

Zach Werenski had two assists, the second of which was his 40th of the season, and Olivier added an assist on Coyle's hat trick goal to make it three Blue Jackets with multi-point nights.

The win put Columbus in sole possession of fourth place in the Metropolitan division and six points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders, who are tied for second.

Head coach Rick Bowness knows that despite his 7-1-0 record since taking over the reins, the work is just beginning.

"We haven't done anything yet," Bowness said after the game. "We got to keep pushing, so that's the message that we're sending and they're hearing that."

Coyle echoed a similar sentiment.

"We're playing really good hockey, but there's still a lot that we can clean-up and get better at which is a really good sign for us."

Here's how the Blue Jackets won a fourth straight game for the second time in less than three weeks:

1st Period:

(19:13 — CBJ Goal): Excellent puck movement from Columbus on the power play as all five skaters touch the puck in the seconds before Coyle's goal gives the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead. Werenski shoots from the circle and the puck pings off the skate of goalie Spencer Knight and right to Coyle, who flips it past him for the brief lead.

(19:57 — CHI Goal): The Blackhawks get the equalizer with 2.7 seconds left in the period on Bedard's 22nd goal of the season. Defenseman Alex Vlasic's first shot is blocked by Boone Jenner, but he gets it back and fires again. This time it gets through to Merzlikins, whose rebound goes right to Bedard and he buries it to make it a 1-1 game.

(1:23 — CBJ Goal): Coyle's second of the night gives the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead. It comes after the Blue Jackets force Chicago forward André Burakovsky into a turnover, who throws the puck into his own slot. Coyle collects it and fires past Knight to restore Columbus' lead.

(6:47 — CBJ Goal): Olivier's goal of the season extends the Columbus lead. Werenski fires a shot from the point that goes off the glove of Knight. Coyle collects the rebound and skates behind the net before getting a backhand pass off to Olivier, who is waiting in the slot. He quickly fires and scores, putting the Blue Jackets up 3-1.

(10:49 — CHI Goal): A dangerous young duo combine for the goal and primary assist here, as Nazar gets his 7th of the season on a great pass from Bedard. The sequence starts when Ivan Provorov has trouble handling the puck in the neutral zone. Tyler Bertuzzi swipes it and quickly shovels it ahead to Bedard, who then hits Nazar in the slot. He gets a quick wrister past Merzlikins to cut Columbus' lead to 3-2.

(18:57 — CBJ Goal): Cole Sillinger gives it up to Coyle for the hat trick.

CBJ GAME STATS CHI
26 SHOTS 24
60% FACEOFFS 40%
1/3 POWER PLAY 0/2
2/2 PENALTY KILL 2/3
16 HITS 13
12 GIVEAWAYS 17
6 TAKEAWAYS 3
13 BLOCKED SHOTS 15
ALL SITUATIONS ADVANCED STATS
60 SHOT ATTEMPTS 54
30 SCORING CHANCES 21
8 HIGH-DANGER CHANCES 10
Advanced Data Via NaturalStatTrick.com

Stat Chat:

  • Werenski became the second player in franchise history to record three consecutive multi-assist games. Artemi Panarin did it in the final four games of the 2017-18 regular season.
     
  • Coyle's four-point night wasn't a one-off performance: he has five goals, four assists, and is +7 in plus/minus over the last three games for the Blue Jackets, and he's now third on the team with 39 points.
     
  • Columbus had just three shots on goal in the final period. "We didn't put enough pucks on the net in the third, so we're going to keep preaching that," said Bowness. "We want to play on our toes; we want to go after them."

Up Next:

Leg two of a road back-to-back comes Saturday night when the Blue Jackets head to St. Louis for a battle with the Blues. Columbus won 3-2 in their first clash on Nov. 1. St. Louis will enter the game with a 20-25-9 record and tied for the third-fewest points in the league (49).

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