COLUMBUS, Ohio — Towering Columbus Blue Jackets winger Dmitri Voronkov, who rarely speaks to the media because of a language barrier, saddled up next to defenseman Ivan Provorov so that he could field questions after another banner night at the rink.
Two questions stood out: Is he surprised that he’s having this much success as a goal scorer in the NHL? How high is his confidence now that he’s 100 games into his NHL career and becoming a major force?
Both questions bounced off Voronkov like most of the opponents who try to check him.
Is he surprised?
“Not surprising,” Voronkov said. “I work hard. I play hard. I’m going to continue to do the same thing.”
As for his confidence?
“Everything is good with me all the time,” Voronkov said. “I’m always confident.”
Voronkov continued his torrid pace, scoring two more goals on Saturday — his third two-goal game in his last seven outings — to help the Blue Jackets to a 6-4 win over the St. Louis Blues before an over-capacity crowd of 18,535 in Nationwide Arena.
Adam Fantilli, Mikael Pyyhtiä, Kirill Marchenko and Mathieu Olivier also scored goals, while Provorov and Sean Monahan each had three assists.
The Blue Jackets never trailed, but they had to survive a wild third period in which each club scored four goals. It wasn’t until Olivier’s empty-net goal from the neutral zone, his 10th goal of the season, that the Blue Jackets could breathe easy.
The win gives the Blue Jackets (17-17-6) 40 points, the same as eighth-place Ottawa and 10th-place Pittsburgh, who they play next Tuesday. Ottawa currently owns the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference via tie-breaker, but this is all a refreshing change for the Blue Jackets.
VORONKOV GIVES US THE LEAD 🚨@FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/jPGrlIebG8
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 5, 2025
When is the last time it’s been safe to look at the NHL standings after New Year’s Day? Hell, after Thanksgiving?
There have been so many individual performances that have allowed this resurgence to happen — Zach Werenski’s ridiculous scoring and puck wizardry, Kirill Marchenko’s puck-hounding and lethal shot, Sean Monahan’s quiet excellence and scoring … we could go on here.
But Voronkov has been a revelation.
The 24-year-old left winger now has 15 goals (in only 31 games) after scoring in the first and third periods on Saturday, leaving him just three goals short of the surprising sum he managed last season as a rookie. And consider this: he never scored more than 18 goals in any pro season in Russia.
Over his last 10 games, Voronkov has 8-6-14 and a plus-9 rating. He’s figured out that on a line with Monahan at center and Marchenko on the wing, his best bet is to head to the net and throw his 6-5, 228-pound frame into the dirty areas.
“He’s been great,” Provorov said. “Big body. Plays a smart game. Can make plays. A great player who can make an impact on a team. It’s still (only) his second year. If he continues the same way, he’s going to only continue to be a better player.”
Voronkov gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead late in the first period when he cleaned up a Zach Werenski shot behind Blues goaltender Joel Hofer. A power-play goal by Marchenko at 2:15 of the second made it 2-0 early in the second, and that was where it stood through 40 minutes.
The third period was chaos on skates. At 3:44 of the third, and with Columbus on the penalty kill, Pyyhtiä skated around a flat-footed Brandon Saad in the neutral zone, zooming wide of the Blues forward — and former Blue Jacket — for a clean look and score on Hofer.
That was the first of five goals —three for Columbus, two for St. Louis — scored in the next 3 minutes, 40 seconds of playing time, leaving the Jackets with a 5-2 lead. The Blues pulled to 5-3 at 12:54 and added an extra-attacker goal at 16:16 to make it 5-4.
VORO ADDS ANOTHA😎@FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/RpRfuRf7e2
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 5, 2025
This is not at all what the Blue Jackets needed, not after losing in heartbreaking, last-minute fashion to Detroit only 48 hours earlier. They held a meeting on Friday to discuss the loss — and the way they lost — then did their best to move beyond it.
“If you lose 4-0 or lose (like that) it’s still two points you didn’t get,” Provorov said.
“We’ve grown a lot as a team. As a young team, you need experience. You have to learn to win. That’s what we’ve shown so far, is that we’re learning how to win.”
The Blue Jackets are part of a logjam in the Eastern Conference. Only four points separate seventh-place Tampa Bay (the first wild card) and the 13th-place Philadelphia Flyers. The Jackets haven’t felt safe looking at the standings since the 2020-21 season.
“I check (the standings) every now and then,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “We don’t have boards (with the standings) or that type of stuff in the dressing room. But the guys know that we’re in it.
“More importantly, they know when they come into the dressing room every night for a game that we have a chance to win. We have a chance to win every single night. That’s what’s exciting for this group. That’s what gets them jacked.”
(Photo: Joseph Maiorana / Imagn Images)
