Blue Jackets now at Flyers' mercy after tough loss to Boston: 'We've lost total control'

AtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksPlayoff projectionsNHL Draft rankingRed Light NewsletterBlue Jackets now at Flyers’ mercy after tough loss to Boston: ‘We’ve lost total control’The Blue Jackets struggled to get past former teammate Joonas Korpisalo, who made 33 saves. Russell LaBounty / Imagn Images Share full article7COLUMBUS, Ohio — The hushed quiet of the dressing room and the number of players staring blankly at their skates or the floor spoke to how devastating Sunday’s loss was to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The fact that two of their former teammates helped push the Blue Jackets right to the brink of playoff elimination was just salt on the open wound. Sean Kuraly matched a career high with three points (one goal, two assists), and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo made 33 saves as the Boston Bruins beat the Blue Jackets 3-2 before 18,532 in Nationwide Arena. “We’re all very, very disappointed with how it went tonight,” Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness said. “The guys are heartbroken. (The coaches) are heartbroken. Now we’ve lost total control of what’s going to happen. There’s nothing we can do now.” The Blue Jackets, who held second place in the Metropolitan Division just two and a half weeks ago, are now at the mercy of the Philadelphia Flyers. If the Flyers earn a single point in either of their final two home games — Monday vs. the Carolina Hurricanes or Tuesday vs. the Montreal Canadiens — the Blue Jackets will be eliminated from the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. And even if the Flyers do manage to lose their remaining two games in regulation, the Blue Jackets then would have to beat the Washington Capitals on Tuesday in Nationwide to jump into the final playoff spot. The winner of that game would advance. “A lot rides on (Monday), obviously, with Philly and what happens there,” Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said. “We’ll get some rest. We’ll watch the game. Hopefully, we’re still in it after (Monday) night, and we’ll play a playoff-type game against Washington. “Today definitely sucks, but, like you said, we’re not out of it.” The Blue Jackets set themselves up for a big weekend with Saturday’s 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens in Bell Centre, one of the best games they’ve played this season. Certainly, it was one of the best games they’ve played in recent weeks. But the sloppy, erratic play that sent the Blue Jackets spiraling late last month — they’re now 3-8-1 in their last 12 — was back on display against the Bruins on Sunday, especially after the initial strong start faded. “We started to fight the puck a little bit, and our execution was off,” Bowness said. “And when your execution gets off and you’re fighting pucks, it’s hard to keep momentum. It was that more than anything. The power play (0-for-3) … there’s an example. Our power play wasn’t very good, because the execution wasn’t very good. You want your power play to give you a boost, whether they score or not. There were some bad decisions, some bad execution. That’s what it was.” The Blue Jackets could not handle the Bruins’ fourth line, with Kuraly between wingers Alex Steeves and Mark Kastelic. That line accounted for all three Boston goals, including the go-ahead goal at 10:22 of the third period. Kuraly, from below the goal line, found Kastelic wide open in the left circle for a wrister that beat Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves to the far corner. They scored goals and created chances like that most of the evening. “They won the game for them,” Bowness said. For Kuraly — a Dublin, Ohio, native — it had to be special. He spent four years with the Blue Jackets, signing in Columbus as a free agent when most of the rest of the NHL was avoiding the franchise as it headed into a rebuild. When Kuraly’s contract was up last summer, the Blue Jackets allowed him to hit free agency without offering a contract. They signed Isac Lundeström as a free agent to take his spot on the fourth line. “There are a lot of really good teammates, good players, good guys in that room that I have a ton of respect for,” Kuraly said of the Blue Jackets. “They play hard, so you just play hard, too. It feels good to be on the side that comes out on top, there’s no doubt about that.” Kuraly knew the Blue Jackets were facing an almost must-win situation, and he knows how difficult it can be to play in those situations, he said. The Bruins, by the way, gave five of their lineup regulars a day off with a playoff spot already clinched. “The longer the game stays tight, we knew it would be tight for them and tough to play the game they wanted to play,” Kuraly said. “Credit to us, we’ve got a lot of new guys in the lineup. Everybody did their job. We knew no one had to do more than just their job.” Adam Fantilli and Mason Marchment scored for the Blue Jackets, while Greaves, starting back-to-back games, finished with 19 saves. Fantilli’s goal, at 1:27 of the third period, brought the Blue Jackets to a 2-2 tie, and brought Nationwide Arena back to life. But the Bruins took the lead for good on Kastelic’s goal. The Blue Jackets had several clean looks on Korpisalo in the third. But Korpisalo, who spent nine seasons in the Columbus organization, made several key stops, and a few other prime scoring chances were whiffed on by the Jackets. “This one’s a gut shot,” Fantilli said. “We understand and understood everything going into this game, and we didn’t get it done. And the disappointment is pretty high right now.” 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