If the Columbus Blue Jackets were measured on moral victories in 2023-24, they’d be off to a tremendous start. But alas, only what the scoreboard says at the end of the night matters.
Sunday night in New York was perhaps the most heartbreaking loss of this young season for the Blue Jackets. They came within 11 seconds of handing the Rangers just their third regulation loss of the season.
Alexis Lafreniere beat Elvis Merzlikins with just 11 seconds left in regulation to make it 3-3. While overtime didn’t solve anything, Lafreniere was the only shooter to beat Merzlikins in the shootout.
Rangers 4, Blue Jackets 3. Yet another loss after having a lead. The overtime loss put the Blue Jackets at 4-7-4. They remain in last place in the Eastern Conference on account of more games played than the Ottawa Senators.
There Are Good Moments
Let’s start with the good. While the Blue Jackets tried holding on in the third period Sunday night, they played a pretty good game. They opened the scoring. Although they went down 2-1, they converted on two goals in 19 seconds thanks to Adam Fantilli and Sean Kuraly. Merzlikins played an excellent game.
The Blue Jackets didn’t allow the Rangers to score on their power play including on an extended 5-on-3 opportunity. There were a lot of good things the team did.
However the Blue Jackets weren’t able to do the most important thing. That’s get a win. With Jonathan Quick pulled, the Rangers put immense pressure on the Blue Jackets before finally breaking through at the end. Chris Kreider’s pass found Lafreniere which sent Madison Square Garden into a frenzy.
It also sent the Blue Jackets into an all too familiar feeling. That was the fourth game in a row that they held a lead but were unable to win the game. They are 0-2-2 in that stretch.
In Florida, the Blue Jackets came back from an early 3-0 hole to lead 4-3 before the Panthers scored late in the third and early in overtime.
Against Dallas, the Blue Jackets jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before the Stars rattled off five unanswered goals.
In Detroit Saturday, the Blue Jackets were in an early 2-0 hole. They scored three straight to take the lead before allowing the Red Wings three straight. Despite Patrik Laine’s 200th NHL goal, it wasn’t enough. It was a stinging 5-4 loss.
The Blue Jackets could easily have four wins in their last four outings given they had the lead in each game. Instead, it’s four losses and a bunch of “moral victories” to build off of.
Moving On From Moral Victories
Yes, teams can always find good things to draw from when they lose. Every team has losses. Every team generally has good moments within those losses.
While the Blue Jackets have done a lot of good things of late to be in position to win, it hasn’t been good enough. Moral victories do not count in the standings.
At 4-7-4, the Blue Jackets have not gotten the results they’ve needed. Simply put, moral victories are simply not good enough anymore. The biggest thing this team needs is wins. With just one win in their last 10 games, that’s nowhere near good enough to meet the standard that they expect to achieve.
Why are moral victories not good enough? That’s because the team said themselves they expect to compete for a playoff spot this season. It’s their own words. And while it’s still early enough in the season to work through their issues, it’s hard to make up significant ground in today’s NHL.
Even if the Blue Jackets were to get on a good streak of say 5-6 wins in a row, they might only make up a couple points in the standings. With the presence of the overtime point and several teams to jump over, the math gets really hard when a team is in last place. Moral victories will not save them from the reality that if they want to get to the playoffs this season, they’re going to have to climb Mount Everest to get there.
There Is Immense Pressure
This has been true ever since the start of training camp. The Blue Jackets were put on notice by ownership when they released their statement about how they can still achieve their goals for this season. It’s safe to say being in last place wasn’t on their list of goals.
Given how the Mike Babcock situation unfolded, it put everyone within the team on notice that it’s time to show real progress. As each loss continues to pile up, that pressure is only going to get greater.
Make no mistake. Jobs are on the line with the Blue Jackets. From management all the way down throughout the rest of the team, there is an expectation to win. Failure to meet those defined expectations should lead to major changes.
The Blue Jackets still have significant questions to answer within the team. After another subpar performance by the third pair, how close is the team to making a deal to unclog the logjam of blue liners? They want David Jiricek playing in the NHL. Instead he was sent to the AHL despite playing his 10th game.
What about the Blue Jackets veterans not performing to expectations? How will they start to get the best out of them in order to start stacking wins together?
Not only do moral victories not count in the standings, they also don’t save jobs. If the Blue Jackets can start converting these good moments into wins, then great. But that hasn’t happened yet. Four wins in 15 games is not good enough. Something has to change.
It Can’t Continue Like This
The NHL is a results driven business. No matter how young the team is or how many good things a team has done, wins and losses matter. Something has to change with the Blue Jackets in order for them to start getting much-needed wins.
As each loss piles on, the heat around the team will only increase. The question then becomes what do the Blue Jackets do about this? They have to do something.
What options are available to them? They could continue making tough roster decisions. If a player is not a long-term fit, perhaps now is the time to cut bait and move on. Maybe it’s time for those shining in Cleveland to get a chance in the NHL.
What about a trade? The Blue Jackets have been trying to make moves especially given how many players they have. They have an abundance in Columbus and in Cleveland too.
Then there’s always the nuclear option. While these are usually last resorts, we can’t rule out changes on the team when there is already a high amount of pressure on the Blue Jackets to reach their goals this season. If they don’t start winning soon, they’ll have no choice than to consider changes in their front office. No one is exempt from being held accountable on this team.
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The Blue Jackets have four games in the upcoming week including three against their division. They host the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday and the Arizona Coyotes Thursday. Then they play in Washington Saturday and Philadelphia Sunday.
The Blue Jackets need wins. That is the ultimate elixir in down times. Wins will keep them in the race while confirming their approach is working. They say they will get there eventually. But eventually could be too late for this season.
The time for moral victories has long passed for these Blue Jackets The time for victories is now. While they’ve been close of late to getting those victories, close only counts in certain things.
The Blue Jackets have time. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet. But if they don’t start getting results soon, they could be out of the playoff race before 2024 even arrives.
Something has to change. Things simply cannot continue on its current path. If they do, big changes will follow.