Blue Jackets' playoff outlook dims considerably after blanking by Sabres

AtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksPlayoff projectionsNHL Draft rankingRed Light NewsletterNHL Regular The Blue Jackets are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games. Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images Share full article9BUFFALO, N.Y. — It’s amazing the wild emotional swings a playoff-desperate club can experience this time of year. On Tuesday, the Columbus Blue Jackets pulled off a stunning comeback in Detroit, and you wondered if maybe — just maybe — they could ride that euphoria to charge back into a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Two nights later, the Blue Jackets were blanked by the Buffalo Sabres, and their chances of reaching the postseason became dramatically slimmer. The Sabres scored four third-period goals and pulled away for a 5-0 win before 19,070 in Key Bank Center, the fourth time — and the most inopportune time — the Blue Jackets have been shut out this season. Worse, the Jackets were shut out by Sabres goaltender Colten Ellis, a 25-year-old NHL rookie who has spent more time in the ECHL than the AHL so far in his pro career. Ellis made 37 saves for his first career NHL shutout. “Their goalie stole the game for them tonight,” Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness said. “You get that many chances, you think the puck’s going to go in. It didn’t go in for us tonight. “They’re a great hockey club over there. They didn’t need many chances to score. But, again, give their goalie all the credit in the world. That second period was one of the best periods we played all year, and we still came out of it with nothing.” Had the Blue Jackets won, they would have taken over the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division, after the Flyers lost in Detroit. But the loss, in conjunction with wins by the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings, dropped the Blue Jackets to 11th in the Eastern Conference. A playoff berth is not out of the question — stranger things, right? — but the Blue Jackets, with three games to go, now need to jump the Islanders and the Flyers to earn the third Metro spot. And Columbus’ schedule for the final three games is brutal. The Blue Jackets, who are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games, have a back-to-back on Saturday (in Montreal) and Sunday (vs. Boston in Columbus) before ending the season vs. Washington on Tuesday in Columbus. That game seems likely to be a playing-out-the-string event. “I don’t even know the math and what’s exactly going on (with the standings) because, again, I’ve got to worry about my own (stuff) and our own (stuff),” Blue Jackets center Charlie Coyle said. “We just have to take care of that. We can’t rely on the other teams.” Coyle called himself out without prompting in his postgame comments with the media, as it was his third-period turnover that led to the Blue Jackets’ unraveling. It was 1-0 when Coyle skated the puck through the neutral zone back toward the Blue Jackets’ end of the ice, looking for a place to carry the puck away from pressure. Instead, Buffalo’s Josh Doan stripped the puck from Coyle from behind and continued skating away from him, closing in on Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves for the goal that made it 2-0 at 7:19 of the third. “My turnover there … we’re a shot away (from tying it),” Coyle said. “It’s exactly what you don’t want to do. “I was just in between what I was gonna do, and he had a good stick and good body position. That’s something you can’t afford to do. So that one’s on me, for sure.” The Sabres went on to score two goals in a 25-second span later in the period to make it 4-0 at 13:46 of the third. A 196-foot empty-net goal by Rasmus Dahlin capped the scoring and brought the building to a deafening roar, with 3:05 remaining. “(The 2-0 goal) took a little bit out of us, yeah, it did,” Bowness said. “I mean, only because we know we had played so well and worked so hard to get that game. So, yeah, that was a tough one.” Ultimately, though, the Sabres’ first-period goal stood as the game-winner. The Blue Jackets have scored only 16 goals during their 10-game nosedive. For a while, the chances and the shots had evaporated. Now the chances and shots are back, but the goals — at least on Thursday — were still missing. When the going got tough, the Blue Jackets forwards went into hiding, with slumps running up and down the lineup. Sean Monahan, Kent Johnson and Conor Garland are without a goal during the 2-7-1 skid. Coyle, Kirill Marchenko, Boone Jenner and Cole Sillinger have each scored one goal. Bowness basically bombed his lines before Tuesday’s game in Detroit, but he’s kept a blender on the bench, too. On Thursday, he went to it as early as the first period. “If they weren’t getting chances, then we’d have to do something (more),” Bowness said. “They’re getting their looks. You know, they’re just not going in for them. The forecheck was great tonight. The opportunities were there and the goalie beat us.” Now the Blue Jackets are on borrowed time, needing a miracle over the next week to get into the playoffs. “Just take care of the next shift, the next period,” Bowness said. “That’s what I want us to focus on. “It’s going to be all mindset on Saturday night. That’s all it is. It’s not going to be about Xs and Os. It’s about how hungry we are. And I know they’ll answer the bell. We’ll be there Saturday.” 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