Twelve games into the 2024-25 season, the Columbus Blue Jackets are ahead of where many pundits thought they would be. After a strong start, the team has begun to slide in the other direction with three straight losses. Now sitting at exactly .500 with a 5-5-2 record and even in goal differential (40 goals for and 40 goals against). The team is at a critical fork in the proverbial road and need to get back above even by stringing together a few wins. If they want to be playing meaningful hockey late into the season, they’re going to have to do to this losing streak as Barney Fife used to say: “Nip it in the bud.”
Blue Jackets Had a Boost to Start the Year
The team had played most of their games in Nationwide Arena through October and are now on an extended road trip while they catch up in away games. The problem for the team this season is that they are significantly better at home than on the road. Their records are 4-3-0 at home and 1-2-2 on the road. Hence we’ve seen a continued dip in the last few games after a stronger record right off the hop.
There could be a difference suggesting if the disparity in home and away records is due to causation or correlation. It could be the team had been riding an emotional wave from the events in the offseason and was met with a new head coach in Dean Evason who was able to help them channel that energy into on-ice results.
Now the Blue Jackets Are on a Losing Skid
Since the calendar turned to November, it’s been a tough go for the Blue Jackets. In three games played, they’ve been outscored 15-5. A bit of grace could be given in regard to the first two games as they were against two of the hottest teams in the NHL.
The Winnipeg Jets have a .923 points percentage through their first 13 games. So you can understand why the Blue Jackets got shelled 6-2 and were outshot 44-22. It was actually a feather in the team’s cap that they were able to keep the game close through the first half, before the Jets kicked in the afterburners in the third period.
Related: Blue Jackets Still Have A Lot to Figure Out This Season
Next, they played the red-hot Washington Capitals, who have been buoyed by 39-year-old Alexander Ovechkin playing like 25-year-old Alexander Ovechkin. In most metrics Columbus was the better team, outshooting the Capitals 36 to 22, winning 60 percent of faceoffs, and having more hits and takeaways and fewer giveaways. The one place they weren’t better was the one that mattered – the scoreboard. The Capitals put up a touchdown and converted a kick through the uprights for a 7-2 win over the Blue Jackets.
Where this stretch turned from a couple of tough games against good teams and into a losing skid was San Jose. The worst team in the league through the first tenth of the season should’ve been an easy two points for the Blue Jackets. They took a remarkable 50 shots on the night, but were simply “goalied” by the Sharks Vitek Vanecek. Despite trailing through most of the game, they were able to find a hole in the Czech netminder about 50 minutes in and forced overtime. However, they lost off of a wrist shot from Blue Jackets alum Alexander Wennberg.
Coming up on this West Coast road trip, the team will face three very beatable teams. The Los Angeles Kings will be their most difficult foe this weekend, especially considering they haven’t lost at home in regulation yet this season. They follow that with a game against the Anaheim Ducks, who have looked lost many times so far. Their offense has been impotent and most of their top scorers are at or below half a point per game. They close with a game on Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken who are near the bottom of the Pacific Division standings.
If the Blue Jackets want to keep building on their relatively strong start to the season, they’ll need to get back above .500 by the end of this road trip. That’ll give them a good chance to keep some momentum when they return to Nationwide Arena – where they’ve been really good so far – on Nov. 15 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. If they lose these next three games, it could be the spiral that puts them behind and makes this another in a long list of “write-off” seasons in team history.
