It wasn't pretty at times, but after a wild start the team put the defensive clamps down over the last 30 minutes and finished off a tricky road trip with a 2-1 record.
GAMEDAY GUIDE: Dubois, Roslovic excited to face former teams
"It's just a huge win, so we'll take it," said Max Domi, who had three points and finished plus-4 in the victory. "It's fun to play win you're winning. Obviously, coming back from Vegas, it's not easy all the time, but we found a way and I think it shows a lot of character.
"We said before the game, this road trip can go two ways. If we win this one, it's going to be a heck of a road trip. If we don't, it's going to be a so-so one. And we all went in together and said we're going to come out on top here, and we found a way to do it."
Anything is a work in progress throughout a season, and the Blue Jackets are in that space right now. Defensively, there is work to be done, with Columbus allowing 3.60 goals per game over the last 10 contests. Special teams have generally been good but inconsistent -- the power play scuffled in the loss to Vegas, the penalty kill in Buffalo -- and a 5-0 overtime record has helped the record along.
But that's how hockey goes, and all you can ask is to get consistent effort and try to improve as the season goes along. The Blue Jackets have done largely that, getting varied scoring -- 19 goal scorers in 16 games -- figuring out ways to win close games and playing for one another in a way that's pretty obvious in the early going.
"Winning in general is fun," Domi said. "All I really care about is winning some hockey games right now and finding ways to win games like this. It's great to see. It just speaks volumes of our group. Everyone is getting on board here, and we believe in ourselves as a group.
"It's not like it's just been a five- or 10-game flurry. We've been doing it pretty consistently here. We just have to keep getting better every single day. If we keep doing that, we're going to be a heck of a hockey team here."
After three on the road, Columbus has a chance to keep the good vibes going with home games tonight against Winnipeg and Friday on Black Friday vs. Vancouver.
"We've been playing well," center Jack Roslovic added. "It was a good road trip and a good way to end it."