Cole blends right in with Jackets

BOSTON — Three weeks ago Monday, Ian Cole was at home in Pittsburgh when he got word he was heading to Columbus to become the newest member of the Blue Jackets.

Having faced the Jackets numerous times over the years — including in the playoffs last spring — Cole felt relieved to be going somewhere with a bit of familiarity.

The veteran defenseman has fit in quite nicely.

Playing alongside David Savard, Cole has been a big part of the seven-game winning streak the Blue Jackets rode into Boston on Monday night.

Cole has two goals — it should be three, as Artemi Panarin’s goal in San Jose never got officially credited to Cole — and four points in 10 games going into Monday.

“Everyone wants to win and when everyone has that mindset, everyone is pretty accepting to someone who wants to get the job done,” Cole said. “I’m very happy to be here.”

Cole won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins the past two seasons but was part of Pittsburgh’s blockbuster deal with the Senators for center Derrick Brassard.

Although Cole wasn’t happy to leave the Penguins for a team riding out the string — “I was like ‘Wow, this is going to be a long summer,’” he said — Ottawa told him to sit tight because they were going to flip him to a contender.

That team was the Blue Jackets.

“Winning two Cups is great, don’t get get me wrong,” he said. “But that is in my past. There are lessons you learn, some things you experience along the way. … The leadership here has been great for years. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.”

Cole and Savard appear to be a natural fit together on the third pairing. Although both lean more on the defensive side of play, the two have had their moments offensively.

Then there is the matter of their beards. The two have been given a number of nicknames although “LumberJackets” and “Puck Dynasty” seem to be the ones that have stuck. Both like the former. “We need each other and it has been pretty good so far,” Savard said with a laugh. “We haven’t talked about the beards too much, just a little bit. The ‘LumberJackets’ is pretty good.”

Said Cole: “If he likes ‘LumberJackets’ and the fans like it, I’m all on board.”

For the second consecutive game, the Blue Jackets were without All-Star defenseman Seth Jones.

Jones is on the trip and was at TD Garden during Monday’s morning skate although he didn’t participate.

The Jackets will say only that Jones is out because of an upperbody injury; he is suspected to have been hurt when hit from behind by Colorado’s Carl Soderberg as he began to celebrate his winning goal in overtime on March 8.

“You miss him, he’s a key part of our team,” coach John Tortorella said. “It’s the next guy up and you play.”