A strong first two periods helped the Blue Jackets survive a third-period push from the Sharks before van Riemsdyk found the empty net.

A weekly gauge of the players who are controlling substantial buzz around the league. When a player is included on this list it may not be a good thing -- it means that they are capturing a large amount of the hockey world's attention.

On Dec. 18, the Blue Jackets ranked 26th in the NHL standings and trailed a wild-card spot by five points. After dropping eight of their last nine games, the playoffs seemed increasingly out of reach. They have gone 9-3 ever since.

Zach Werenski climbs higher, the Blue Jackets are watching the standings closer and the San Jose Sharks were overmatched: 3 takeaways

As the team wins more and more, the Blue Jackets have shot up the NHL standings. After the win against San Jose, they now sit in the first wild card spot and are just five points back of Carolina, who they face Jan. 23 during this upcoming road trip, for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

The Blue Jackets 'mucked' it up with Tortorella's Flyers to win by shootout on Marchenko's borrowed move from Texier: 3 takeaways

Columbus Blue Jackets alternate captain Zach Werenski is leading the NHL in goals among defensemen this season.

A case of mistaken identity, thoughts on the Calgary Flames surprising season as well as that of the Columbus Blue Jackets (including defenseman Zach Werenski) and a visit from Vegas Golden Knights Spanish broadcaster Jesus Lopez is all featured in this week's episode of "NHL Unscripted with Virk and Demers" podcast presented by iHeartPodcasts.

After scoring six goals on Tuesday, the San Jose Sharks only scored once on Thursday, as the Columbus Blue Jackets won 4-1.

The Columbus Blue Jackets were about to embark on an extended road trip. They could have easily overlooked the San Jose Sharks. Thanks to a quick start and a good first two periods, the Blue Jackets avoided the trap game.

James van Riemsdyk scored twice and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 to extend their win streak to six games — their longest since January 2020.