The Columbus Blue Jackets had a golden opportunity to gain important points in the Eastern Conference with a pair of home games this past weekend. But instead of gaining important points, they came away with an empty feeling and a missed chance to solidify their playoff positioning.
On Saturday, the Blue Jackets lost to the San Jose Sharks 3-2 after holding leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the game. On Sunday, the Blue Jackets were up 3-0 before ultimately falling in the shootout to the Boston Bruins 4-3.
In both games, the Blue Jackets were ahead in the third period. The Sharks scored with 1:25 left in the game Saturday to win in regulation. The Bruins scored with 11 seconds left to force overtime.
The Blue Jackets were in position to gain four points on the weekend. Instead, they came away with one.
As of Monday morning, the Blue Jackets do still hold a playoff spot. They hold the second wildcard spot with 88 points. The Senators, Red Wings and Flyers all have 86 points and hold a game in hand on the Blue Jackets.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins with 88 points while the Penguins hold a game in hand. They both trail the New York Islanders by one who have 89 points.
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While the Blue Jackets remain in the thick of the playoff race, their recent play has caused their playoff chances to take a hit. As of Monday morning, Moneypuck has their chances at 49.3%. It was over 80% at one point. But a 1-3-1 skid in their past five has made it so that they currently do not control their own destiny. They will need help to get in.
With eight games left, the Blue Jackets would need to go 5-3 to get to 98 points. No team has ever missed the playoffs achieving 98 points in a season. Although it’s possible this season someone does.
The Blue Jackets now face a home-and-home series with the Carolina Hurricanes this week. The result of this set could determine the fate of the Blue Jackets’ season.
Today, we look back at the weekend and what could have been. If there was anything we learned, it’s that the Blue Jackets still have a lot to learn to be a playoff-ready team.
Much to Learn
One of the central themes of the Blue Jackets’ season early on was their inability to close out games in the third period. That cost them important points in the standings.
This weekend, that theme has creeped up again. This time, it was under the most critical of circumstances.
The first and most important lesson is that the Blue Jackets have to find a way to close out these games. Especially on Sunday with a 3-0 lead, they must slam the door shut and not even allow the opposition an opportunity to chip away. While they had opportunities to find a fourth goal, they failed to do so. It was enough to allow the Bruins a chance at a comeback. They made it happen.
Charlie McAvoy scored 6:29 into the third period on what looked like a shot that Jet Greaves could handle. That made it much more than 3-1. That gave the Bruins belief they could try for the comeback.
But instead of putting their foot down, the Blue Jackets allowed the Bruins to dictate the pace. Their desperation down two was evident. They scored quickly on a power play to make it 3-2.
Then while on fumes, the Blue Jackets had numerous chances to ice the game away. They lost key faceoffs. They couldn’t get to loose pucks. A bouncing puck eventually went to Pavel Zacha who tied the game. Viktor Arvidsson eventually won it in the shootout.
The Blue Jackets have to ask themselves why does this keep happening? It happened under Evason. Now it’s starting to happen under Bowness. The head coach didn’t mince his words postgame about where things stand with his team.
“I thought we got very selfish with the puck,” Bowness said. “Some of these guys, they have a lot to learn about how to play in this league at this time of year. It gets harder and harder and harder, and we’re going to keep reminding them and reminding them every day how hard it is to win at this time of the year…There’s a lot there to be learned from some of these guys, and they better damn well start listening.”
What made it even more frustrating for the Blue Jackets was that they played one of their best first periods of the season in building a 3-0 lead. They had all the momentum. But they were still unable to finish the job.
Should the Blue Jackets miss the playoffs, they will have no choice but to look back at all the points they lost in games when they were ahead in the third period. Even closing out 1-2 games would be a huge difference in how the standings look.
The Blue Jackets have to close out games. It’s as simple as that. Whatever it is they’re doing that allows this to happen, needs to be addressed soon. By the sounds of Bowness Sunday, it appears he won’t waste any time addressing individual players as needed.
Couple Other Important Lessons
Closing out games is not the only lesson the Blue Jackets need to learn. Here are a couple other lessons that have stood out especially in their last five games.
- Special teams have to start seeing better results. On the weekend, the Blue Jackets gave up a power-play goal in three seconds to the Sharks and six seconds to the Bruins. The Blue Jackets had a late power play Sunday to get a fourth goal in which they failed to score. They also took a rash of penalties Sunday that allowed the Bruins to keep momentum. This must be cleaned up.
- The Blue Jackets need to find goals in low scoring games. While they played well enough to win against the Islanders and Canadiens in particular, they lost games of 1-0 and 2-1. Being able to play these tight games is a good thing. But not being able to manufacture goals is not a good thing. They have to be able to generate chances and create havoc even if they don’t have their legs.
- Speaking of not having their legs, the Blue Jackets have to be able to win with less than their best. They played their sixth game in nine days Sunday. Every team has condensed schedules. The lesson here is that they have to start learning how to win in those situations. Other teams can do it. Bruins coach Marco Strum said pregame Sunday his team gets excited in tight situations. The Blue Jackets need to somehow do the same.
- There’s being physically tired. But then there’s also being mentally tired. The Blue Jackets need to build mental toughness to handle these situations better. The playoffs are nothing but a test of a team’s toughness. We will see in these last eight games just how much the Blue Jackets have learned in that area. They have to be able to put these recent disappointments behind them and apply the lessons learned in order to qualify for the playoffs.
The Blue Jackets are still right in the thick of the playoff race. They are a coin flip whether they make it or not. A 5-3 or better finish should be enough for them to get in.
But if the Blue Jackets want a good finish to their season, they need to learn and apply the lessons other teams have shown them. They’ve overcome a lot to put themselves in this position. But now it’s time for them to rise up and finish the job.
Will the Blue Jackets qualify for the playoffs? They could. But only if they quickly apply these critical lessons in order to be a playoff-ready team.
