The Columbus Blue Jackets didn’t just beat the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night - they looked like a team with its blue line finally back in working order.
A 7-2 win over one of the NHL’s true Stanley Cup contenders is going to grab the headlines, and it should. Charlie Coyle led the way with two goals and two assists, Mathieu Olivier chipped in a goal and two assists, and Cole Sillinger added a goal and an assist. Twelve different skaters picked up at least one point, and Cam Talbot backed it all up with 27 saves.
But the bigger story might have been the return of Ivan Provorov.
Tuesday was only his second game back from injury, and it looked like the Blue Jackets had been waiting for this version of their defense all season. Provorov didn’t just show up on the scoresheet. He was all over the ice, making the kind of plays that change the rhythm of a game without always getting the same attention as a goal or assist.
He got on the board in the first period on a power play while Columbus was up 1-0, burying his first goal of the season. That gave the Blue Jackets another defenseman who can move the puck and add offense, something they’ve clearly needed.
The more telling moments came after the game was already tilting in Columbus’ favor. With the Blue Jackets ahead 2-0, Provorov snuffed out a Colorado 2-on-1 by cutting off the cross-ice pass.
Later, he won a battle behind his own net, came away with the puck and carried it out himself. Those are the kinds of small, steady plays that keep a team on the front foot and make everyone around him a little more confident.
He also handled a heavy workload, logging just under 20 minutes while seeing time on both special teams units for more than two minutes apiece. After missing the first month of the season, he looked like he never left.
That’s exactly how his coach and teammates saw it.
“It shows you how much we missed him,” Bowness said. “His skating ability and he’s such a competitive guy but he moves the puck so well.
He’s so smart back there, so good in our zone and he’s one of the best in the league at getting pucks down to the net. He’s got his eyes up.
He knows where he’s putting it. Games like Dallas, when he just comes out.
He hasn’t been in a game for a month, just like he hasn’t skipped a beat. There’s very few guys who can do that and he could do it.”
“Provy’s one of the top guys in the league,” Garland said. “You see how thick he is and hard to play against.
Breaks pucks out really easily, really good on the power play. (He) turns our second unit into a really dangerous unit.
A lot of confidence in him. He’s a fantastic player.
He helps (Werenski) and (Severson) and get some more offensive minutes. Those guys can make a ton of plays and you kind of see it when those three are out there.
They control the pace of play. I think he helps us immediately.”
His return also changes the way the rest of the defense can be deployed. Zach Werenski, who had been carrying around 28 minutes a night without Provorov in the lineup, was down to over 24 minutes on Tuesday. That’s the kind of range Columbus wants to keep him in if it can.
It also gives the Blue Jackets more flexibility on the third pair. Jake Christiansen and Dante Fabbro skated together against Colorado with the top four intact, and the team can also turn to Erik Gudbranson or Emil Andrae if it needs a different look. Bowness said everyone is going to play, especially if there are back-to-backs.
And there’s one more layer to this: Provorov helps the forwards, too. The defense had been searching for consistency, and that ripple effect reached up the ice. His ability to win battles, retrieve pucks and move them north faster gives Columbus more ways to attack.
There was plenty to like about Tuesday night. But the most important takeaway may have been the simplest one: with Provorov back and contributing at both ends, the Blue Jackets looked a whole lot more complete.
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