Blue Jackets hold players-only meeting as downward spiral continues

AtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksPlayoff projectionsNHL Draft rankingRed Light NewsletterNHL Regular The Blue Jackets are 1-6-1 in their last eight games. Russell LaBounty / Imagn Images Share full article2COLUMBUS, Ohio — Maybe they’re trying so hard to be difference makers. Maybe they’re so panicked by the opportunity before them that they’re simply short-circuiting, both with brains that can’t process and hands that won’t stop trembling. Either way, the Columbus Blue Jackets look nothing like the structured, direct club that played their way back into a playoff race under coach Rick Bowness. They look like independent contractors, unsure of what the others are doing. The most “together” the Blue Jackets were Saturday came after their frustrating 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets in front of 18,272 in Nationwide Arena, when the dressing room doors stayed closed for more than 20 minutes so a players-only meeting could be held. “I think I’ll keep that conversation in here,” Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said. “We’re a better team than we’ve shown, and we just talked about it.” The Blue Jackets are now 1-6-1 in their last eight games, scoring only 13 goals in that stretch. The only goal on Saturday was scored by defenseman Ivan Provorov, meaning the Blue Jackets have gone 137 minutes, 53 seconds without a goal scored by a forward. “All of our issues right now are related to just terrible puck management,” Bowness said. “We’re making very poor percentage plays. We created the second-most chances off the forecheck in the entire league, yet we want to get inside the blue line and make cute little plays against good teams that aren’t working. They’re not working. “I have to get after them. They’ve got to change their mindset. We’re a north-skating team. When you turn the puck over as much as we did, you’re on your heels all the time. That’s what’s frustrating for me. We’re not going to sit here and talk about effort; we’re going to talk about execution with the puck.” The only thing keeping the Blue Jackets alive in the playoff race is every team around them. The New York Islanders, who are in third place in the Metro Division, just one point ahead of the Blue Jackets, have lost four straight. Ottawa, which currently holds the second wild-card spot due to a tiebreaker advantage over the Jackets. The two other clubs tied with Columbus and Ottawa — Detroit and Philadelphia — are struggling, too. The Red Wings have won two of their last seven games, and the Flyers have dropped two of three. With a win, the Blue Jackets would have jumped from 11th place in the conference standings to third place in the Metro. Now they face two much-needed days without a game, including an off-day on Sunday, before a huge game in Detroit on Tuesday. But all of this talk about the standings or a playoff spot seems silly if the Blue Jackets keep playing like this. “We’re not eliminated,” Werenski said. “We’re still in it. I believe in this group. I believe we can get it done, and it’s just doing it. I mean, we did it for two months. The last two weeks haven’t gone our way, but it’s in the room and it’s on us to just pull it out and get it done. “But it starts with one game at a time. We can’t worry about what other teams do or whoever we have after Detroit (on Tuesday), our focus has to be on Detroit, and after that, we’ll figure it out.” The Blue Jackets came out of the gate fast and hard, and only 1:17 into the game, they made it 1-0. Mason Marchment used the mother-of-all stick lifts to outbattle Winnipeg’s Dylan Samberg for the puck deep in the Jets’ end. Marchment then carried the puck below the Winnipeg net and found Provorov sneaking through the slot for a one-timer that sailed over the shoulder of Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. But by the second period, the Jets had taken over the game. The Blue Jackets didn’t get their first shot on goal in the second period until 4:16 remaining. They generated only 16 shots on goal, but half of them came in the third period. It was reminiscent, but not quite as drastic as Thursday’s loss in Carolina, when Columbus finished with 10 shots on goal, matching a franchise record low. In that game, Blue Jackets forwards totaled an NHL-record low two shots on goal. Bowness hinted at sweeping line changes in advance of Tuesday’s game in Detroit, and you can understand why. An Arctic blast has settled upon the forwards’ end of the bench. Sean Monahan has zero points and a minus-6 rating during the 1-6-1 swoon. Kirill Marchenko, Conor Garland, Cole Sillinger, Charlie Coyle, Adam Fantilli, Boone Jenner and Zach Werenski have each scored one goal. Werenski and Marchenko have been the Blue Jackets’ offensive drivers all season, but they haven’t looked close to form lately. On Saturday, Marchenko is so out of sorts that he whiffed on a wrist shot from the left circle. He had no shots on goal for the fifth time in his last 10 games. Werenski, meanwhile, uncharacteristically turned the puck over at the blue line on multiple occasions when he was trying to dump it deep. In business, as in hockey, when all else fails, hold a meeting, right? “It’s good to communicate,” Marchment said. “You know, we’re all men in here. We’re family. It’s nice to hear what everyone thinks and has to say, and where we all sit, you know?” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Aaron Portzline is a senior writer for The Athletic NHL based in Columbus, Ohio. He has been a sportswriter for more than 30 years, winning national and state awards as a reporter at the Columbus Dispatch. In addition, Aaron has been a frequent contributor to the NHL Network and The Hockey News, among other outlets. Follow Aaron on Twitter @Aportzline