{"id":209062,"date":"2025-10-13T01:23:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T01:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/209062\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T01:23:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T01:23:08","slug":"blue-jackets-sunday-gathering-dean-evason-ready-to-add-wrinkles-to-late-game-looks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/209062\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jackets Sunday Gathering: Dean Evason ready to add wrinkles to late-game looks"},"content":{"rendered":"

COLUMBUS, Ohio \u2014 A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Item No. 1: In-game strategy<\/p>\n

Coach Dean Evason vowed before the start of training camp that he would juggle his forward lines and switch up his defensive pairs more often this season, not just between games based on performance, but also in-game based on the situation.<\/p>\n

This weekend provided a first glimpse of how this might look.<\/p>\n

On Thursday in Nashville, the Blue Jackets trailed by a goal for most of the third period. Evason\u2019s call was to play veteran Damon Severson on the right side of the top pair with Zach Werenski \u2014 Dante Fabbro\u2019s typical spot \u2014 when the Blue Jackets had an offensive-zone start in the final five minutes.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the Blue Jackets didn\u2019t get the rally they wanted. They lost 2-1. But Evason plans to take this approach all season, he said, involving both forwards and defensemen, and in situations when they\u2019re leading or trailing late in games.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a thought process and a game plan, what we want to do at the end of games if we\u2019re up or if we\u2019re down, and who we feel is going (on a certain night),\u201d Evason said. \u201cObviously, it switches around. If a guy is playing well, or the guy\u2019s having a night offensively, he might get another opportunity to be out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Severson has had two rough seasons in Columbus, but he\u2019s played very well in the first two games of the season. After the loss in Nashville, the Blue Jackets routed the Minnesota Wild 7-4 on Saturday in St. Paul. Severson has an assist, a plus-4 rating and has averaged 18 minutes, 53 seconds, of ice time in the first two games.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought Sevo played great the other night,\u201d Evason said before Saturday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

Evason said he told the club before last season that players would have a well-defined sense of their role with the club, but that those roles are fluid based on their performance. But those roles were more difficult to define a year ago, when virtually all of the players were unknown to Evason.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s obviously different now one year later. He knows these players\u2019 strengths, weaknesses and tendencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to play on the penalty kill? You play real good defensive hockey and you get an opportunity,\u201d Evason said. \u201cYou start scoring goals or what have you, and you play on the power play. In those situations, if you\u2019re reliable, you\u2019ll be out there at the end of the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re offensive and scoring goals, you\u2019ll be out there at the end of the game if we\u2019re down. Yeah, guys\u2019 roles can change all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was easy to see what was happening in Nashville. But it was harder to read on Saturday in St. Paul, because the game was so disjointed with penalties \u2014 the Wild had eight power plays \u2014 and the Jackets had five defensemen for most of the third period.<\/p>\n

All of this, of course, is dependent on the Blue Jackets players accepting Evason\u2019s in-game challenges. Severson, as expected, was thrilled by the extra ice time and offensive opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s kind of my game, getting the chance to pop out there,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like I get my swagger back, get my game going in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tougher part of this could have been with Fabbro. But he took no issue with it, perhaps because he knows it will almost certainly come around to him getting extra chances at times this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertain guys are feeling it in different areas of the ice each night, and that\u2019s up to the coach\u2019s discretion,\u201d Fabbro said. \u201cLook, I\u2019m all for it if guys are, you know, producing a bit more offensively in that game. If we need goals, that\u2019s the coach\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always said this: I want our team to win. I want our team to succeed. You\u2019ve got to put the guys out that are going each night and put them in spots to help the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Item No. 2: For Quinn<\/p>\n

On a night when the Blue Jackets won their first game of the season, and Boone Jenner scored his 200th career goal, Kirill Marchenko had his fourth career hat trick and goaltender Elvis Merzlikins made 48 saves \u2026 a touching and unexpected moment happened in the postgame dressing room.<\/p>\n

The Blue Jackets have been awarding a \u201cdonkey hat\u201d to a player after every win, a tribute to the late Johnny Gaudreau, who was known to affectionately call his closest friends \u201cdonkey.\u201d But after Saturday\u2019s win, despite all of those superlatives, the \u201cdonkey\u201d didn\u2019t go to a player.<\/p>\n

Quinn Halstead, the 12-year-old daughter of Blue Jackets assistant equipment manager Dustin Halstead, was diagnosed in August with a brain tumor and has since endured several surgeries and multiple stays in a Columbus hospital.<\/p>\n

Jenner, the captain, walked to the middle of the visitors\u2019 dressing room in Grand Casino Arena, and choked back emotions as he delivered a message to the Halstead family back in Columbus.<\/p>\n

Here is the post-game scene in which #CBJ<\/a> captain Boone Jenner presents the “donkey” to Dusty Halstead. https:\/\/t.co\/0uWoFLHFTU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) October 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a team effort, first of all,\u201d Jenner said. \u201cElvis, the penalty kill, the power play \u2026 everyone chipped in. We\u2019re going to need that the rest of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we talk about being a team, being a family \u2026 somebody\u2019s battled harder than us for two-plus months now, someone who\u2019s in our family. Dusty is back with her right now. This is for Quinn and all that she\u2019s been through. We played for her tonight. This is going to her. We wish you the best of luck. Keep recovering, keep battling. We love you guys. This is for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

This group of Blue Jackets, who have faced more than their share of tough times and tragedy in recent years, applauded as Jenner held the cap high in the air with his final words.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been an emotional time for Jenner, too,<\/p>\n

In April 2024, he and his wife, Maggie, shared on social media that the couple\u2019s first child, Dawson, was stillborn one month before his due date.<\/p>\n

Just last month, the couple welcomed Tommy Pavol Jenner into the world, and Jenner has been beaming ever since, calling it \u201cthe best thing in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked after Saturday\u2019s game about scoring his 200th career goal, Jenner said: \u201cIt feels good. It\u2019s more important that we got the win tonight than the 200. But this is goal No. 1 for my son, so that\u2019s how I look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jenner joined Rick Nash (289) and Cam Atkinson (213) as the Blue Jackets\u2019 only members of the 200-goal club.<\/p>\n

Item No. 3: Take 5, Jody Shelley<\/p>\n

\u201cTake 5\u201d is our weekly brief and (mostly) non-hockey conversation with a Blue Jackets player, coach, broadcaster or staffer. This week, it\u2019s former NHL tough guy turned local and national TV broadcaster Jody Shelley:<\/p>\n

Favorite place to get away?<\/p>\n

Alberta. That\u2019s where my parents live, just outside Edmonton in an area called Sherwood Park. My family is there. My mom always makes me my favorite meal. Lasagna. Steak. Nanaimo bars. It\u2019s a dessert. It\u2019s a Canadian delicacy. The best.<\/p>\n

Favorite restaurant in Columbus.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always been a big fan of Lindey\u2019s. Great spot. You can go about it in several different ways. You sit on the patio, which is pretty relaxed. You can sit at the bar. Or a nice, formal dinner. For casual \u2026 there used to be a great sandwich shop in the (North) Market called Two Guys From New York, but that\u2019s not there anymore. What\u2019s the famous place in German Village? Katzinger\u2019s. You can\u2019t go wrong. If you want two meals in one sit-down, get one of those sandwiches. I\u2019m usually starving when I get there, so \u2026 pickle while you wait.<\/p>\n

Any hidden talents?<\/p>\n

I played the saxophone and the tuba in school. I switched to tuba because it was too big to carry it home, and I didn\u2019t like carrying (the sax) home. Here\u2019s one: I can play tennis. I\u2019m pretty good. I can serve. I can hunt balls down. Anyone who has a net game would give me trouble. I hit with (former Blue Jackets GM) Jarmo (Kekalainen) a while back, but we didn\u2019t keep score. We just hit. He\u2019s a level up. Him and Freddy Modin are up there.<\/p>\n

Any unpopular opinions?<\/p>\n

I believe dessert is an important part of any dinner. I get there\u2019s a big health kick and everybody has their own thing, but for me it works. Chocolate cookies or ice cream. If it\u2019s not both, it\u2019s one or the other after every dinner. It\u2019s starting to catch up with me, I think.<\/p>\n

Any guilty pleasures or odd habits?<\/p>\n

I sing in the shower and I love Taylor Swift. Some of her songs get me going. I listen to a lot of country. I\u2019ve realized because of Spotify \u2014 you can see the lyrics with every song, right? \u2014 that I don\u2019t know any of the words when I\u2019m signing. None of \u2019em. My words are completely wrong, but I go with the feeling. I\u2019ll even laugh at myself. Way out of tune, wrong lyrics \u2026 but I love it.<\/p>\n

Item No. 4: Snacks<\/p>\n

\u2022 Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson played only one shift in the third period before heading to the dressing room. Gudbranson and Minnesota\u2019s Marcus Foligno had been going at it all night, and Foligno landed a huge hit on Gudbranson along the wall only 1:16 into the third. Evason called it an upper-body injury and said Gudbranson would need further testing before the severity of the injury was known. If he can\u2019t play in Monday\u2019s home opener, Jake Christiansen, a healthy scratch in the first two games, would likely draw into the lineup.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Blue Jackets have now allowed four or more power-play goals in a single game on 10 occasions during their 25 seasons. Saturday\u2019s win was the first time they\u2019ve ever won such a game on the road. They have one home win in such games, too. On Nov. 12, 2016, they gave up four power-play goals but still beat the St. Louis Blues 8-4 in Nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The 48 saves by Merzlikins on Saturday vs. the Wild were the second-most saves in a game in his NHL career. He had franchise-record (regular season) 56 saves in a 6-0 loss to Calgary on Jan. 26, 2022, in Nationwide Arena. Yes, the Flames had 62 shots on goal that night. The 48 saves are also tied with three others \u2014 Marc Denis (Feb. 14, 2004), Pascal Leclaire (Jan. 14, 2006) and Curtis McElhinney (April 11, 2015) \u2014 for the third-most saves in a single game.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Here\u2019s Evason on Merzlikins\u2019 performance: \u201cIt was a really solid (outing) when we needed him. You all are trying to create some kind of controversy (with fellow goaltender Jet Greaves), but there\u2019s no controversy. They\u2019re both competing their butts off. Elvis did it (on Saturday); Jet did it in Game 1. Now we have some decisions to make (about Monday\u2019s home opener).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Think you had a busy week? Ivan Fedotov, acquired in a trade with Philadelphia on Sept. 14, was assigned to the AHL at the end of training camp to be Cleveland\u2019s No. 1 goaltender. On Wednesday, he was in Philadelphia with his wife when she gave birth to the couple\u2019s first child, a boy. On Thursday, he flew back to Cleveland. On Friday, he made his AHL debut and had a 21-save shutout in the Monsters\u2019 1-0 win in Utica, N.Y., the season opener. It was Fedotov\u2019s first shutout in North America. Cleveland doesn\u2019t play again until their home opener next Friday vs. Lehigh Valley, so Fedotov is expected to travel to Philadelphia again this week for a visit. He has said that his wife will join him in Ohio when she\u2019s able to travel.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Monsters won again on Saturday in Utica. Mykael Pyyhti\u00e4 scored 23 seconds into overtime, while Brendan Gaunce and Riley Bezeau also scored goals. Goaltender Zach Sawchenko had 21 saves. Before the season started, Gaunce was named AHL Cleveland\u2019s captain, with forwards Hudson Fasching and Owen Sillinger, and defenseman Dysin Mayo, serving as alternates.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Blue Jackets traded David Jiricek to the Minnesota Wild last November for defenseman Daemon Hunt and a slew of draft picks, including a first-round pick (No. 20) spent on goaltender Pyotr Andreyanov in June. At the end of training camp, the Wild claimed Hunt off waivers when the Blue Jackets tried to send him to AHL Cleveland. On Saturday, both Jiricek and Hunt were healthy scratches for the Wild after veteran Jonas Brodin was cleared to join the lineup.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Blue Jackets Sunday Gathering trivia: Marchenko\u2019s hat trick on Saturday was the fourth of his career, placing him third on the franchise\u2019s all-time list. Which player has the most hat tricks in franchise history?<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ever heard of a 27-team no-trade list? That\u2019s what Jack Roslovic, the Columbus native and former Blue Jackets forward, requested \u2014 and received \u2014 as part of the one-year, $1.5 million contract he signed with the Edmonton Oilers last week. The 27-year-old, who had been an unrestricted free agent, has a no-move clause between now and Nov. 1, at which time he is to provide the Oilers with four clubs that are approved as destinations should the Oilers decide to trade him. Roslovic, who reportedly turned down a three-year contract from Edmonton early in the summer, could get a tremendous opportunity with the Oilers, especially while top-line forward Zach Hyman is out of the lineup. Roslovic missed the Oilers\u2019 first two games of the season, but is expected to debut this week. The Jackets and Oilers play twice in a four-day span next month: Nov. 10 in Edmonton and Nov. 13 in Nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The season opener in Nashville marked Fabbro\u2019s first game in Nashville since the Blue Jackets claimed him off waivers from the Predators on Nov. 10, 2024. He played parts of seven seasons with Nashville, so you knew a \u201cwelcome back\u201d video would be part of the evening. The timing couldn\u2019t have been worse, or more hilarious. At 10:08 of the first period, Fabbro and Nashville\u2019s Michael Bunting got tangled up away from the play and began abusing each other. Fabbro was called for interference and Bunting for slashing, so they both headed off to the penalty box \u2014 still screaming at each other \u2014 when the game paused for a TV timeout. Fabbro, then, sat in the penalty box while his tribute played on the scoreboard in Bridgestone Arena.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Here\u2019s Fabbro: \u201cI honestly didn\u2019t even realize it was (playing) until it was like halfway through it, because Bunting and I were going back and forth a little bit. I just stopped saying a few cuss words and then I was waving to the crowd and then I think we went back at it again. It was kind of a funny situation. It took me by surprise a little bit. It was nice of them to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 The goal that glanced off the leg of Adam Fantilli before zipping past Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson at 10:47 of the third period on Saturday was the 5,000th goal scored by the Blue Jackets organization. Strange fact? A Blue Jackets draft pick has scored each of the \u201cthousandth\u201d goals. Rostislav Klesla scored the 1,000th (Nov. 22, 2006), followed by Derick Brassard (2,000 on Oct. 18, 2011), Josh Anderson (3,000 on Nov. 5, 2016), Oliver Bjorkstrand (4,000 on April 19, 2021) and now Fantilli.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Trivia answer: Atkinson, who is set to sign a one-day contract with Columbus this week and retire a Blue Jacket, had six hat tricks for the Jackets. Nash had five.<\/p>\n

(Photo: David Berding \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n