A cannon fires after every Columbus goal at Nationwide Arena, one of the more recognizable in-arena traditions in the NHL. The Blue Jackets arrived as a 2000 expansion franchise, one of the last teams added before realignment reshaped the league's divisions. Ohio's only NHL club has built its identity around a young, fast-skating style and a loud home atmosphere.
As of Nov 3, 2026, here are the most recently projected forward lines, defense pairings and power-play units for the Columbus Blue Jackets. On the top line, the Columbus Blue Jackets are currently projected to run left wing Matthew Knies, center Adam Fantilli and right wing Kent Johnson together, a trio expected to log the heaviest 5-on-5 minutes on the roster, though without last change on the road it does not always draw the other team's top shutdown pairing. On the blue line, the top pairing is Zach Werenski and Damon Severson, who typically log the heaviest 5-on-5 minutes on the back end and face the toughest zone starts, though the team's primary penalty-kill pairing is not always the same duo. On the power play, the PP1 unit runs Matthew Knies, Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, Charlie Coyle and Zach Werenski, the unit most teams send out first on a power play, though a delayed-penalty scramble already in progress or a late matchup change can put a different five over the boards. These combinations reflect pre-game reporting rather than real-time tracking, and can change between games and even between periods, so check the today's lines tool for the most current deployment before puck drop.
| # | Player | Off | Def | PP | PK | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zach Werenski | 98 | 48 | 74 | 44 | 98 |
| 2 | Kirill Marchenko | 60 | 40 | 63 | 0 | 88 |
| 3 | Boone Jenner | 69 | 37 | 48 | 30 | 78 |
| 4 | Dmitri Voronkov | 60 | 38 | 57 | 0 | 77 |
| 5 | Yegor Chinakhov | 62 | 47 | 36 | 0 | 77 |
As of Nov 3, 2026, the most recently projected lineup for the Columbus Blue Jackets includes 4 forward lines, 3 defense pairings and 2 power-play units, updated whenever a new pre-game lineup is reported.
As of Nov 3, 2026, the top line projected for the Columbus Blue Jackets is left wing Matthew Knies, center Adam Fantilli and right wing Kent Johnson.
These projected lines are drawn from Daily Faceoff's pre-game reporting, typically beat writers covering morning skates and warmups before puck drop. They reflect the coaching staff's intended deployment rather than shift-by-shift tracking collected once a game is already underway, and can still shift between a morning skate and the opening faceoff.
Lines can change from game to game, and sometimes within a single game, as a coaching staff reacts to matchups, injuries, scoring droughts or chemistry. Check back before each Columbus Blue Jackets game for the latest projected combinations, or browse the historical lines archive to see how often this team's lines have shifted recently.
