It’s a new week. For the Columbus Blue Jackets, that means an opportunity to move on from the bad taste in their mouths from the way Sunday’s game against the New York Islanders ended.
The Blue Jackets have embarked on their Western Canada trip for the 2025-26 season. But it’s not like a normal Western Canada trip.
The Blue Jackets play Wednesday night in Calgary. Nazem Kadri will play in his 1000th NHL game. But instead of going to Edmonton, they go to the West Coast.
The Blue Jackets play Saturday night in Vancouver, Monday night in Edmonton and then Tuesday night in Seattle. One would think given the geography that handling Alberta and then handling the coast together would make more sense. But instead, it’s more of a zigzag trip than a straight shot.
The Blue Jackets are only worried about who’s on their upcoming schedule. That begins Wednesday night against the Flames. They have some interesting things going on up front. That’s where we start this week in News & Rumors.
State of the Forwards
You may have noticed a different forward alignment in Sunday night’s game. For over 58 minutes, it seemed to pay dividends.
Miles Wood was moved to the top-six. He scored a big goal in the game Sunday. As a result, Kent Johnson was moved to the fourth line while Yegor Chinakhov became a healthy scratch again. Zach Aston-Reese replaced Chinakhov in the lineup.
Let’s look at these one at a time. For Wood, it’s rewarding his play. He’s got four goals in seven games this season. The goals he’s scored at big goals at key moments in games.
Wood scored the tying and winning goal in Buffalo. Then he scored the tying goal Sunday in New York. There’s a reason he got a promotion. It is a current theme the Blue Jackets are trying to address.
The team wants to be a north and south team, not an east and west team. Wood plays north and south. He’s had an impact in games. That was rewarded.
Coach Dean Evason said as much on Sunday when asked about the forward changes. He admitted wanting his team to be north and south.
That could explain why Johnson was moved to the fourth line. He can play an east-west game at times. Given the timing of Evason’s comments, it’s reasonable to believe that was part of the motivation for this to happen now.
Johnson does have 2-2-4 in 12 games this season. It’s not the kind of start he or the Blue Jackets would have imagined given his talent. It appears he will remain on the fourth line Wednesday night in Calgary. Blue Jackets’ reporter Jeff Svoboda reported there would be no changes up front.
#CBJ head coach Dean Evason just did his pregame media. Dysin Mayo goes in for his CBJ debut on defense in place of the banged-up Denton Mateychuk, but they hope Mateychuk can play Saturday in Vancouver.
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) November 5, 2025
Jet Greaves in net vs. the Flames and no changes up front.
That means Aston-Reese stays in and Chinakhov stays out. Evason has also said he’s liked Aston-Reese’s game and it was hard to take him out. Like Wood, Aston-Reese is more of a north-south player.
The Chinakhov situation gets more interesting by the day it seems. Despite scoring goals in consecutive games in Buffalo and Pittsburgh, he finds himself on the outside looking in again.
Evason also said that having 13 available forwards who can all play causes them to have long discussions about who to play on a nightly basis. The issue is how to address that.
The top line of Dmitri Voronkov, Sean Monahan and Kirill Marchenko is in tact. The third line of Cole Sillinger, Charlies Coyle and Mathieu Olivier found some chemistry of late. Perhaps a top-six chance with the demotion of Johnson was a possibility. But it was Wood and not Chinakhov who got the call with Boone Jenner and Adam Fantilli.
What will the Blue Jackets do about it? They’re one injury away from needing Chinakhov in their lineup. They’re not just going to trade him because he requested a trade.
There were many scouts in Columbus for Chinakhov’s season debut. There appears to be a lot of interest but nothing has materialized as of yet that has made the Blue Jackets say yes.
They want an NHL-ready player who can help them now. Unless there’s a change and a sudden desire to trade him as soon as possible, they’ll wait and see if the right offer comes along.
The Chinakhov story will not go away if they continue to scratch him. The noise will only get louder given his trade request this past offseason. The Blue Jackets are listening but they might need him too soon. It’s an interesting dynamic they are trying to balance.
As for the rest of the forwards, watch for a more north and south approach. That’s what Evason expects from them on a nightly basis.
Mateychuk’s Status
Denton Mateychuk will not play Wednesday night in Calgary according to FanDuel’s Dave Maetzold. Mateychuk was limited some Sunday as he was banged up.
The good news is that Mateychuk’s injury is not considered serious. He has a chance of playing Saturday in Vancouver.
Meanwhile, Dysin Mayo will make his Blue Jackets’ debut on Wednesday. He last played in the NHL in 2023 for the Arizona Coyotes.
Expect Dante Fabbro to play with Zach Werenski in Mateychuk’s absence. Mayo would then play with Jake Christiansen on the third pair.
Side Dishes
- Remember when goaltending was a major question for the Blue Jackets? They enter Wednesday’s games second in the NHL in team save percentage at .912. Both Elvis Merzlikins and Jet Greaves have an even-strength save percentage over .930.
- For reference, 21 teams have a team save percentage under .900 going into Wednesday.
- The road has been very kind to the Blue Jackets. They average 33.7 shots per game (2nd) and score 3.83 goals per game (3rd) away from Nationwide Arena.
- Coyle has eight points in his last five games going into Wednesday.
