COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Zach Werenski celebrated being an Olympic gold medalist in front of Columbus Blue Jackets fans Saturday night.
Werenski was honored before the Blue Jackets' 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders. A video was played on the scoreboard above center ice of Werenski's pass to Jack Hughes for the gold medal-winning goal in the United States' 2-1 victory over Canada on Feb. 22.
After that, the spotlight focused on Werenski on the Blue
Jackets' bench as the fans gave him a raucous standing ovation with “USA!” chants throughout the arena.
Werenski's U.S. jersey and gold medal from the Milan-Cortina Olympics were displayed in the main concourse of Nationwide Arena before the game as fans got to take pictures in front of it. At one point, the line to view it was halfway around the arena.
“It was really cool," Werenski said. "I was excited for it and it’s super special coming back here and seeing that and seeing our fans get behind it.”
The pregame video also showed Werenski and Matthew Tkachuk skating around the ice with the U.S. team Johnny Gaudreau No. 13 jersey in tribute to the beloved player who was killed along with his brother in August 2024 when they were struck by an SUV while riding bicycles near their hometown in New Jersey.
Gaudreau played two seasons for the Blue Jackets after signing as a free agent. His No. 13 hangs in the rafters inside Columbus' arena.
Werenski's game hasn't suffered despite two busy weeks at the Olympics and the celebrations upon returning to the U.S., including appearances at the White House and State of the Union speech on Tuesday.
Werenski has three assists in Columbus' two games since the Olympic break, including two on Saturday night. He has a point in nine straight games for the Blue Jackets, the longest run by a defenseman in the franchise's 25-year history.
Werenski, second among NHL defensemen with 65 points, has 13 in his last nine games (two goals, 11 assists). It was Werenski’s 21st multipoint game this season and the 100th of his 10-year career. With 621 games played, he’s the fifth-fastest active defenseman to reach the mark.
Colorado's Cale Makar did it in 336 games, followed by Minnesota's Quinn Hughes (410 games), the Rangers' Adam Fox (459) and Pittsburgh's Erik Karlsson (505).
Werenski had the second assist on Mason Marchment’s goal 3:58 into the second period which gave the Blue Jackets a 2-0 lead. Adam Fantilli then redirected Werenski’s wrist shot from the left point with 1:02 remaining in the period to tie it at 3.
Despite Werenski's best efforts, it didn't end being a storybook night for the defenseman and the Blue Jackets.
Columbus had won seven straight before the Olympics break, but have picked up only one point in its last two games. The Blue Jackets lost 4-2 to Boston on Thursday.
Columbus is seven points behind the Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division and five back of Boston for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins lost 3-1 to Philadelphia on Saturday.
“I think both games probably deserved four points, and we came away with one against two teams we're chasing and we only have 24 games left now. So extremely disappointing," Werenski said. "But in saying that, we’ve got a lot of hockey left, and we’re still in it, so we’ll move on to the (New York) Rangers on Monday.”
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
