Columbus Blue Jackets' loss to Pittsburgh Penguins leaves 13 games for glory: 5 takeaways
If the Blue Jackets save their dimming playoff hopes with a miraculous finish to a remarkable season, it would be fitting if the numbers 13 and 21 ignite the hot streak.
Those numbers are featured on the back of their helmets, worn by their coaches as lapel pins and have provided ample motivation since the Jackets opened training camp with heavy hearts. Johnny Gaudreau’s No. 13 and his brother Matthew’s No. 21 worn at Boston College are reminders of an offseason tragedy that took their lives Aug. 29, 2024 in New Jersey. They also loom over the Jackets’ season now, following a 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night at PPG Paints Arena.
After dropping eight of nine games and six in a row, the Blue Jackets (31-28-8) only have 13 games remaining to earn a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Should they earn 21 points out of 26 available to them, it might be enough to secure a wild-card spot.
Next up is another daunting challenge against the New York Islanders on Monday at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, but the Blue Jackets are trying to remain positive.
“There’s still a lot of hockey to be played,” defenseman Zach Werenski said. “We have to stay positive and look at the bright side of things, and that’s that we are playing well, but at the end of the day we have to get two points in these games.”
Here are five takeaways from the Jackets' latest forgettable night in Pittsburgh:
Columbus Blue Jackets fumble another chance to gain ground
The Blue Jackets’ game was the only one in the NHL on Friday, which presented a chance for them to briefly hop over the Islanders (72 points) and New York Rangers (72 points) into ninth place in the conference standings with 73 points — one points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild-card spot.
Another regulation loss kept the Jackets in 11th place at 71 points and gave three teams behind them — the Detroit Red Wings (70 points), Boston Bruins (69 points) and Penguins (68 points) — a chance to either pass Columbus or squeeze the gap even tighter.
Columbus Blue Jackets’ top scorers have gone silent
The Blue Jackets were one of the first teams to have five players reach the 20-goal mark this season, but they’ve largely been silenced during a nine-game skid following a 5-3 victory over the Red Wings on March 1 at Ohio Stadium.
Kent Johnson’s goal in the third period Friday pulled the Jackets within 5-3, but it was just his second goal and fourth point (two goals, two assists) since the outdoor triumph. He’s not alone. In the past nine games, Werenski’s been limited to 2-3-5, Kirill Marchenko has 1-1-2, Dmitri Voronkov’s at 0-2-2 and Adam Fantill's 3-2-5 was boosted by his second career hat trick March 9 in a 7-3 rout against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
“We are getting chances and we’re just not scoring, right?” coach Dean Evason told reporters in Pittsburgh following the game. “We’re getting quality (scoring chances). We’re getting to the inside, for the most part, and they’re just not going in the net. Sometimes it happens, right? It’s just the flow.”
Columbus Blue Jackets chase another lead against Pittsburgh Penguins
Evgeni Malkin’s goal to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead just 5:28 into the game was the sixth straight time and eighth time in the Blue Jackets’s past nine games they’ve allowed the first goal.
Their lone victory in that stretch was their 7-3 rout of the Rangers in New York, where Justin Danforth opened the scoring and Fantilli followed up with his hat trick. Scoring first is one of the biggest boosts toward winning games in the NHL, where goals generally get harder to score as the season progresses.
Falling behind 1-0 requires the trailing team to score consecutive goals at least one time to gain the lead, which isn’t usually an easy task. The Blue Jackets are now 7-20-4 in games they’ve trailed 1-0 and 24-9-5 in games they’ve scored first.
Pittsburgh Penguins catch Columbus Blue Jackets 'cheating' for offense
After being shut out in three of their previous four games and scoring just one goal during those 12 periods, the Blue Jackets tried jumpstarting their offense in Pittsburgh by seeking scoring chances too aggressively and not defending hard enough.
That’s one of the quickest ways to turn games into back-and-forth “track meets” in the NHL, which didn’t exactly work in the Blue Jackets’ favor while facing Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and a Penguins lineup that’s still capable of turning mistakes into goals.
“Tonight, we forced the issue,” Evason told reporters in Pittsburgh. “We cheated and got on the wrong side of things ... the wrong side of pucks, wrong side of people and, consequently, it ended up in our net.”
Columbus Blue Jackets’ road woes continue against Pittsburgh Penguins
One thing that’s remained consistent for the Blue Jackets is their inability to win road games. They’re now 11-20-4 away from Nationwide Arena, where they’re 20-9-5 despite a four-game home losing streak.
Most playoff-caliber teams break even or just under .500 in points percentage on the road, and that’s ultimately what the Blue Jackets can circle if they miss the playoffs. It’s something they must improve starting next season. Hypothetically, had the loss in Pittsburgh dropped their road record to 15-16-4, they’d still be sitting in the East’s first wild-card spot with 78 points. It’s a huge problem.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets stay positive after stumble in Pittsburgh: 5 takeaways
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