The Columbus Blue Jackets came home off one of their best performances of the season in Winnipeg. They followed that up with one of their worst performances of the season against a division rival in a big standings game.
Noted Blue Jacket killer Travis Konecny scored twice while Morgan Frost added a goal and an assist in the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 win over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. The home team came out inexplicably flat and had virtually no answers all night to what the Flyers wanted to do.
Game Recap
It didn’t take long for the Flyers to grab the lead. Tyson Foerster was able to get the puck toward the front of the net. The puck bounced up and landed in the blue only for Noah Cates to slam it home.
The Blue Jackets showed early they wouldn’t have much of an answer. The Flyers were able to make it 2-0 thanks to another goal from Owen Tippett. This allowed the Flyers to sit back and play their game from ahead which is exactly what John Tortorella wants to see.
While the Blue Jackets only had four shots in the first period, they couldn’t get anything going in the second either. On a power play, Konecny scored his first of two on the night to make it 3-0. While the Blue Jackets didn’t give any pushback, they finally showed a little something later in the second period when they finally got a turn on the power play.
Zach Werenski scored his ninth goal of the season sending a shot off the post and in behind Samuel Ersson. That little burst of momentum didn’t last long though. Konency’s second of the game off a great pass from Joel Farabee made it 4-1 in the last minute of the second. From there, it was a Mount Everest climb for the Blue Jackets if they had any hope of making a comeback.
Less than two minutes into the third, it was Frost who expanded the lead to 5-1. The Blue Jackets did score twice later in the third thanks to Sean Monahan and Kent Johnson. Johnson’s goal came with only 37 seconds left in the game.
Merzlikins stopped just 19 of 24 on the night. Ersson only had to make 15 saves to earn the win. Postgame, head coach Dean Evason didn’t mince his words when talking about his team.
“We had nothing,” Evason said. “Absolutely nothing which is disappointing obviously that we should have had more in this game. There’s not one guy. I think the entire group gets lumped together.”
The Blue Jackets will practice Wednesday in advance of their next game Thursday when they host the Washington Capitals. Meanwhile, the Flyers head home to face the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night.