TORONTO — Cracks are starting to show.
Each loss piled on top of others before it feels twice as heavy on the Blue Jackets’ shoulders now with just seven games left and their playoff hopes fading quickly. A 5-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena was the latest gut punch, and the apparent unraveling of what’s been a memorable season is getting harder to watch.
This was the fifth time they’ve been shut out in 15 games since seizing control of the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with an exciting 5-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on March 1 in front of 94,751 at Ohio Stadium.
They’re just 4-10-1 since that night, have dropped to 11th in the conference, trail the Montreal Canadiens by six points for the second wild card, have allowed nine unanswered goals in their past two games and coach Dean Evason felt a need Saturday night to stem a finger-pointing flare up.
“That’s exactly what we addressed,” Evason said. “We’ve stuck together all year. What would we change at this point? Forget about pressure or whatever, all of that. You know, you don’t change just because there’s a situation that’s a little bit negative ... and we haven’t. We’ve done it (finger-pointing) a couple times, maybe, and tonight we certainly did, so we addressed it real early.”
Here are three takeaways:
Columbus Blue Jackets stick with goalie Elvis Merzlikins after emotional exit against Colorado Avalanche
The way Elvis Merzlikins left the Blue Jackets’ 7-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena, there was reason to think Evason and goaltending coach Niklas Backtom might shift to Daniil Tarasov in Toronto.
After allowing the seventh goal to the Avalanche on a defensive breakdown that left him little chance to make ...
