Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski glows over Rick Bowness after huge win vs. Flyers

On Jan. 10, 2026, the Columbus Blue Jackets were 18-19-7, placing them in last place in the Metropolitan Division. That led to the Blue Jackets firing Dean Evason and hiring Rick Bowness. Since then, the squad has been on fire. They have won six of their seven games under Bowness and moved into fifth place in the division — and six points behind the third-place New York Islanders.

Star defenseman Zach Werenski gave a glowing review of his new head coach after their latest win.

“His communication is off the charts. I don’t think I’ve played for a coach that’s as good of a communicator as he is. I’ve had more conversations with him in two weeks than I’ve had with any coach, ever,” Werenski said on TNT after the game, according to 1st Ohio Battery.

The message from Bowness was also part of the Blue Jackets getting their latest win over the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2, on Wednesday night. The Jackets built a 3-1 lead heading into the third period. Travis Konecny scored his second goal of the game early in the third period and then completed the hat trick and tied the game with just under five minutes left.

This led to audible groans of disapproval from the Blue Jackets’ faithful. Still, Bowness had a message for his team.

“Get ready for your next shift. Control what you can control. You can’t do anything about that. Give them credit. They made a couple of good plays on those goals. Just get ready for your next shift,” Bowness told his team, per The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline.

“Put it behind you and let’s get back on our toes. We’re an aggressive team; we’re not sitting back. They tied it up. We’ve got a five-minute hockey game. That’s what we put the focus on,” the coach continued.

The Blue Jackets used those five minutes well. Sean Monahan broke the tie just over a minute after Konecny scored. Mathieu Olivier would add an empty net goal, sealing the victory.

“We still have a great chance to do something special here. And it’s been exciting, we’re taking care of business, and that’s all we can do,” Werenski concluded.

The Blue Jackets are now 25-20-7 on the campaign, and are slowly climbing back toward playoff contention. The team will try to run Bowness’ record with the franchise to 7-1 when they return to the ice on Friday, visiting Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks for a cross-conference clash.

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