Cohesion has the Blue Jackets playing at their very best, even without key players

The Columbus Blue Jackets extended the longest current win streak in the NHL to six games with a win over the San Jose Sharks last night. The most impressive part of this streak may be that they're winning games without some of their most notable veteran players in the lineup.

Their last four wins have come without their third leading scorer (Sean Monahan). They've played much of the season without dynamic winger Yegor Chinakhov. They're also currently missing key depth pieces in Erik Gudbranson, Justin Danforth; and their captain, Boone Jenner.

It's really not hard to figure out why this team is winning. Look no further than the post-game interview with Zach Werenski last night. This team is having fun:

This is a talented team that has figured out what their head coach wants from them. They're playing Dean Evason's system consistently, and having success with it. There's a new belief around this team, and for the first time in a long time; there's a coaching staff and management group who are pushing the right buttons. Even Elvis Merzlikins chimed in: winning is fun.

Cohesion from the top down.

From Don Waddell and the rest of the management at the NHL level, to Chris Clark and the management at the AHL level. Through both coaching staffs, and all of the players. Everyone is on the same page here.

When Monahan went down with his wrist injury, the Jackets were able to replace him with Luca del bel Belluz, at the time leading the AHL in scoring. It would be easy for them to bring up Luca, promote everyone in the lineup ahead of him, and play him 6-8 minutes per night.

Instead, Evason and his staff are using Luca on the second line, keeping him in an offensive-heavy role. This seems so easy from the outside. Offensive guy, offensive minutes, right?

That wasn't the case over the last couple of seasons. How many times did we see Sean Kuraly's line come over the boards in offensive zone faceoffs? How many times did we see skilled players benched for making the occasional mistakes? I'll answer both questions with one answer: too many.

Playing del bel Belluz with other offensive players, has allowed the team to keep two checking lines intact. The Cleveland Monsters are playing the same system as the Blue Jackets, so the transition between leagues from a stylistic standpoint, has made it easy for guys to assimilate themselves quickly.

This is a staff who is on the same page, from the top down. Their cohesion has the Blue Jackets playing in roles they are comfortable with, and without the fear of being benched because of a turnover. Or, just someone else's tenure.

For the young players in this organization, that has to be extremely refreshing. Look no further than their individual outputs - and the NHL team's overall success. Kudos to Don Waddell. He's pushing all the right buttons with this franchise.