The second half of November was much better than the first for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who will look to ride their newfound momentum when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday afternoon.
The Blue Jackets went 5-1-1 over the final two weeks of November after a six-game losing streak from Nov. 1-12. They are 4-0-1 in their past five outings, most recently earning a 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Friday.
“Last year, we went on that bit of a losing skid,” Columbus center Adam Fantilli said of the Blue Jackets’ nine-game rut (0-7-2) from Nov. 4-19, 2023. “You never want to get used to losing and having a bit of a winning culture in here, and how much fun we have with each other and how tight of a group we have, it makes it way more enjoyable to come to the rink every day.”
Columbus is tied for 10th in the NHL with 77 goals scored, averaging 3.50 per game. After scoring 11 goals over the course of the recent slide during the first two weeks of November, the offense has rebounded, producing 25 markers in the past five games.
Everyone has been getting in on the action to help the Blue Jackets find their way offensively. Though no one has a double-digit goal total — Kirill Marchenko is one score away with a team-leading nine — Columbus has eight players with at least five markers.
Fantilli became the eighth member of that group with a pair of goals against Calgary, his first tallies since Oct. 28.
“He’s been committed to doing the right things in the right areas,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said of Fantilli. “If he continues to play like he has played literally all year — he’s had some learning curves — but if he plays the right way defensively and sound in all areas, the scoring will come.”
The Blackhawks, meanwhile, are trying to climb out of the NHL’s basement. Chicago is in dead last in the entire league, just one point behind the Montreal Canadiens and two behind the Nashville Predators.
Chicago has alternated wins and losses over its past five games, unable to build off big wins against the Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars. On Friday, the Blackhawks held a 2-0 lead against the Wild before Minnesota scored three times in a span of just over seven minutes to steal a 3-2 win.
“We’ve been playing well the last couple of games, and sometimes the other teams are going to get bounces, too,” Chicago forward Ryan Donato said. “It’s infuriating and hard to lose games and have it be that way, especially when you get off to a good start.”
Chicago has led in the second period in each of its past six games but is 2-3-1 in those contests.
“We’re past the first 10 games, the first 20 games,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. “We got to make sure we’re getting into a mode where we can hold that and sustain it and play the way we played to get to that point and even better.”
–Field Level Media
