Projecting the Blue Jackets’ 2025-26 Power Play Units

When looking at this unit’s best stretches last season, they excelled at getting pucks on net and creating second and third-chance opportunities. They screened goalies well and drew a solid amount of power plays all season. The power play was rolling in November and December, scoring nearly every game over those two months. While it was rolling, players would attack the zone and dump well back to the blue line, making it hard for penalty killers to stay in position and even get set up at times.

Columbus typically set up with three players across the middle and two at the points; once the puck was in motion, one forward crashed the net front (Jenner), while three others cycled in a row in the middle, with another at the blue line, essentially a 1-3-1 style.

Down the stretch, Columbus couldn’t get clean zone entries or hang onto the puck in the offensive end. The healthy mix of one-man and four-man drop looks that sparked their power play earlier in the season dried up, and they fell into predictable patterns that penalty killers took advantage of.

Their shots rarely got through traffic, as opponents blocked attempts and found easy clears. With the attack stalled on the perimeter, the Blue Jackets couldn’t crash the net, leaving them frustrated.

Here was the second power-play unit the coaching staff put on the ice in the back half of last season.

Yegor Chinakhov – Adam Fantilli – Dmitri Voronkov

Ivan Provorov – Denton Mateychuk

They didn’t see much ice time, like most second units, but faced the same struggles for the most part.

Projecting the 2025-26 Power-Play Units

I don’t see any changes coming to the first power-play unit; the switch happens in the second unit for me.

Projected First Unit:

Jenner – Monahan – Marchenko

Werenski – Johnson

Projected Second Unit:

Cole Sillinger – Fantilli – Voronkov

Mateychuk – Dante Fabbro

With Chinakhov’s future in Columbus uncertain, I’d slot in Sillinger, but if Chinakhov remains, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him rotate in and out of the second unit.

I’d swap in Fabbro and rotate out Provorov, banking on Mateychuk’s offensive upside.

Mateychuk had a few big goals last season and plays a defensively sound game, whereas Provorov’s push up the ice sometimes made him a liability to odd-man rushes. That offensive upside pushed Mateychuk into PP2 for me.

The second power-play unit doesn’t see as much ice time, obviously, but I expect those three defensemen to rotate in and out throughout the season.

Consistency and climbing into the NHL’s top 15 to 20 power plays will be very important going forward. Special teams as a whole will always be important, especially in close games late with a small margin for error, so improvements are needed if this team is to finally get back into the playoffs.

Stay tuned for my preview of the penalty kill next here at The Hockey Writers.