Saturday marked the 19th straight game at home in which Werenski has registered at least a point, the longest streak in franchise history.

Zach will play for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off, a best-on-best tournament against Canada, Finland and Sweden in Montreal and Boston from Feb. 12-20. Then he and the Blue Jackets will face the Detroit Red Wings in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium on March 1 (6 p.m. ET; ESPN, TVAS-D, FX-CA).

Just at face value, the Blue Jackets need a player with such a long-term contract to be a reliable, significant part of their lineup. Beyond that, they may need to rely on Severson more heavily down the stretch this season depending on how the NHL trade deadline plays out on March 7.

The NHL is going to have some tight races when it comes to the end-of-season awards, and the Columbus Blue Jackets might have a surprise entrant for a key one.

The marathon that is the league schedule has felt like a sprint at times this season, including when the Blue Jackets played 13 times in the first 23 days of December leading into the holiday break.

With more than half of the 2024-25 NHL season completed, the playoff race is taking shape, and the Columbus Blue Jackets have overcome unimaginable adversity to remain in the mix. The Blue Jackets are the best story in hockey,

Marchenko's 20th goal decides tight-checking game in overtime for the Blue Jackets, whose win over the Kings was their fifth straight at home.

COLUMBUS -- Kirill Marchenko scored at 3:45 of overtime when the Columbus Blue Jackets recovered to defeat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.

The Kings score late in the third period to force overtime before Kirill Marchenko scores on a spectacular individual effort to lift the Blue Jackets to victory.

Zach Werenski scored his 16th goal of the season, extending his home points streak to 19 games. He tied John Van Boxmeer for the 5th longest streak in NHL history. With the goal, he has overtaken Cale Makar in points by a defenseman and tied him with goals by a defenseman.

The Blue Jackets, who begin a key four-game road trip in Las Vegas on Thursday against the sputtering VegasGolden Knights, are tied for the final wild-card spot in a tightly bunched Eastern Conference. Nine teams have between 56 and 51 points.