Fresh off a 7-2 rout of Colorado on Tuesday, the Gray Jackets carried that momentum into a revenge matchup with Dallas and found another way to grind out points.
This one turned into a goalie duel, and Cam Talbot was right at the center of it. He got his second straight start and played like more than a backup, stopping 2.34 goals above expected over 65 minutes. On the other end, Casey DeSmith looked every bit the part of a starter, holding Columbus to just one goal despite a late push.
The game followed a familiar pattern for long stretches: Dallas owned the first half of each period, while Columbus came on stronger in the second half. The Stars finally broke through first, scoring 46 minutes in.
There was contact with Talbot on the play, but after a lengthy review, Rick Bowness chose not to challenge. It was the kind of call that could have gone either way, but not one worth risking the challenge that late.
Columbus answered a few minutes later, and the lineup tweak seemed to help. Bowness swapped Adam Fantilli and Sean Monahan, apparently trying to get Kent Johnson and Matthew Knies rolling, and that move paid off on the tying goal.
The Jackets put together a clean passing sequence through the ice and finished it with Zach Werenski’s first (!) goal of the season.
Columbus goal!Scored by Zach Werenski with 03:14 left in the 3rd. Assisted by Kent Johnson and Matthew Knies.CBJ: 1 | DAL: 1#DALvsCBJ #CBJ #TexasHockey
- NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) 2026-11-06T02:41:35.372427Z
Overtime brought more end-to-end action and more big saves from Talbot. Fantilli and Johnson had the best looks for Columbus, but the extra session also raised a question about the blue line: why was Provorov the only other defender to play besides Werenski? In a 3-on-3 format, Denton Mateychuk feels like the obvious fit.
The shootout settled it from there. Coyle was denied by a poke-check before he could get a shot away.
Robertson sailed his attempt high. Nichushkin answered with a backhand beauty to the top shelf.
Seguin then went right off Talbot’s left shin without even making him move. Johnson finished it off for Columbus with a five-hole goal, as expected.
The win gets the Jackets back to .500. They still have games in hand on most of the teams they’re chasing in the East, and taking four points from Colorado and Dallas over the course of the homestand is a strong return. More broadly, their play over the last couple of weeks has been a clear step up from what they showed in October.
They’re back in action tomorrow night in Buffalo, and it’ll be interesting to see how much energy they have left. Maybe someone from Cleveland makes the short trip up I-90 to bring some fresh legs.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Get Another Chance To Prove Something Against Dallas
Five days after seeing Dallas in the first meeting of the season, the Blue Jackets get a quick shot at a better result when the Stars come to Columbus for the rematch. The timing gives this one a little extra edge, especially with the Jackets coming off a win over Colorado and looking to show that the gap between a solid night and a frustrating one is not nearly as wide as it looked in the first matchup.
For Columbus, the formula is pretty clear: stay disciplined defensively, make Dallas pay when it slips, and carry the confidence from the last game into this one. Cam Talbot is lined up to start in goal, which puts the focus on a group that knows it has to be cleaner in its own end and sharper when chances open up against one of the Wests more reliable teams. [Read more 🡒]
Matthew Knies Looks Dangerous But Blue Jackets Still Have One Problem
Matthew Knies arrived with some early buzz for Columbus, and the first impression was promising enough to make the fit look immediate. He put up four points in his first two games, flashed the kind of puck control and power-forward presence that can tilt shifts, and the underlying possession numbers have stayed encouraging even as the overall scoring pace has cooled.
The problem is that the production has not matched the territorial edge. Knies has only one assist in his last 11 games, and the gap between how dangerous he looks and how often he actually finishes plays has become hard to ignore. The Jackets like what they are seeing in his game, but the next step is clear: he has to get more pucks to the net if the offense is going to catch up with the rest of his play. [Read more 🡒]