For the last time on the season, the Blue Jackets will hit the road tonight.
Just five games remain on the 56-game slate and the last four will be in Nationwide Arena, with the Jackets now reaching milestones on the road to completing the campaign.
There will be no playoff hockey for Columbus, so the last eight days of the campaign will be it. There will be more game days than off days in the schedule down the stretch, a stark change from the last three days, as Columbus has not played since Tuesday s 1-0 shootout win over Detroit that snapped a nine-game winless skid.
What has to happen for the Blue Jackets to catch a break?
The shorthanded Jackets have lost nine in a row (0-7-2), tied for the longest win streak in franchise history, and the last two setbacks in Tampa Bay were marked by stretches of good play and bad breaks on two big goals.
In Thursday s series opener, goalie Elvis Merzlikins was hit in the helmet by a high stick moments before the Lightning scored the game-winning goal, leading to a protest from the CBJ netminder but a goal that stood because it couldn t be challenged.
Then in Sunday s finale, another bad break allowed the Lightning to score a key goal in the third period. Goalie Joonas Korpisalo suffered a lower-body injury with the team on the penalty kill and tried to fight through it, but he couldn t move over on a cross-ice pass, allowing Lightning rookie Alex Barre-Boulet to score his first career goal to tie the score at 3 in what would become a 4-3 overtime setback.
Elvis Merzlikins comments after the Blue Jackets loss to Tampa Bay on Thursday night underscored just how tough it is for the team right now as it plays out the 2021 season.
Columbus is 0-7-1 in its last eight games, one short of tying a franchise record for the longest winless streak, a mark that has been set three times, last in October/November 2014. I am tired of losing the game, Merzlikins said among other heartfelt comments. I know we are trying, but this is getting embarrassing. It is what it is. I am trying to be honest with you guys. It s painful.
Seattle Expansion Draft Series: Article 8 - Columbus and Dallas
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Welcome back to our Seattle Expansion Draft Series. If you haven’t read the
first article that lays out the rules of the expansion draft, that would be a good starting point, as I’ll only give the very basic rules in each of these follow up articles. If you are interested in Detroit, that was the
I’m going to take a look at either one or two other NHL teams each week. My goal is to get some input from people who cover the team because let’s face it, I don’t have the knowledge of each NHL team to be able to give you the best idea of what to expect. Keep in mind that there’s a lot that could happen between now and July, when the lists are finalized. So let’s dive into Columbus and Dallas!