Captain Boone Jenner (shoulder), center Sean Monahan (wrist), forward Justin Danforth (lower body) and alternate captain Erik Gudbranson (shoulder) sat next to top prospect Cayden Lindstrom (back), while center Cole Sillinger (illness) and defenseman Jack Johnson (illness) watched elsewhere.

Denton Mateychuk scored his first career NHL goal and Luca Del Bel Belluz notched his second as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the visiting Seattle Kraken 6-2 Thursday night.

An explosive offense, plucky defense, impressive coaching and deft management decisions have the Blue Jackets battling for a playoff spot.

The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in a shootout after the overtime period at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Dmitri Voronkov of the Blue Jackets scored two goals. The Blue Jackets stand at 17-17-6;

The Seattle Kraken are in Columbus tonight to face the Blue Jackets for the second and final time of the season. The Kraken beat the Jackets on November 12th by a score of 5-2. The Kraken are limping into Columbus with a three-game losing streak and losers of 8 of the last 10 games.

The Blue Jackets scored four goals in the second period to seize control over Kraken with rookie-powered lineup.

The Seattle Kraken hit the road for the first of their five-game road trip on Thursday. They’ve played the last four games on home ice, and perhaps they were used to that.

Zach Werenski, Luca Del Bel Belluz and Denton Mateychuk each had a goal and an assist for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who scored four straight times in the second period of a 6-2 victory against the Seattle Kraken at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.