The Columbus Blue Jackets dropped a road game on a Tuesday night to the Vancouver Canucks, which, on the surface, is hardly a reason for concern.
But the loss highlights a familiar - and less than ideal - pattern, in which the team plays well for a stretch, then proceeds to drop the proverbial ball, en route to a loss.
Former 1st Ohio Battery writer turned Blue Jackets staffer Jeff Svoboda all but called the loss after one of the club's best periods of the season. The Blue Jackets jumped out to a 3-0 lead against a struggling team that had recently cleaned house. Things were looking up, but that didn't fool Jeff!
One period in the books and the Jackets are up 3-0 in Vancouver. That was pretty close to one-way traffic.
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) December 15, 2021
But I will say -- Jackets have had some good first periods followed by some meh final 40s. Need to be ready for a Canucks push in the second. #CBJ
The final 40 minutes were a disaster, as the Blue Jackets took their foot off the gas pedal, warmly inviting the Canucks back into the game. During the span, the home team outscored Columbus 4-0 and outshot the Blue Jackets 31-11. MoneyPuck's "Deserve To Win O'Meter" gave the Canucks a 64.9% chance of winning that game over 1,000 simulations. That checks out, even after accounting for the 3-0, first-period lead.
If this story sounds familiar, it should. The Blue Jackets were up 4-1 in the third period against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday evening before spitting up another three-goal lead. Columbus rallied and won in overtime, but it wasn't pretty. Did they learn their lesson? Clearly not.
If there's a positive to take away from this, a fast starting road team that scores goals in bunches is something of a rarity in the NHL. The Blue Jackets are able to fill the net more than I anticipated coming into the year, and that's a good thing.
But that's really where the optimism ends. The lack of consistency, even (especially?) within the same game is a major cause for concern. It's a symptom of a young and inexperienced team, and there's no better substitute for experience than experience. On both the 3-2 and 3-3 goals, the Blue Jackets made elementary defensive mistakes, ones that you wouldn't expect to see from an NHL team.
Here, Jake Bean gets beaten physically twice in a 10-second span before Elias Pettersson capitalized on a Conor Garland pass.
Elias Pettersson makes it a one goal game, grinding in front and finishing!#Canucks pic.twitter.com/bo2aTtN7Hj
— Hockey Daily 365 (@HockeyDaily365) December 15, 2021
Then on the equalizer, the Blue Jackets are mesmerized by the puck and completely forget that Quinn Hughes, a sublime passer, has the option to pass the puck. He deftly finds Vasily Podkolzin, but it was equally a great pass as it was porous defense.
Vasily Podkolzin puts home the GORGEOUS setup from Quinn Hughes to tie it up at 3! What a pass!#Canucks pic.twitter.com/ZNKPcJPgxY
— Hockey Daily 365 (@HockeyDaily365) December 15, 2021
The Blue Jackets must find a way to minimize the inevitable lows that come in every NHL game. Being unable to manage these swings is the sign of a young team, and games like Vancouver are bound to happen. But blowing two consecutive three-goal leads in the third period is inexcusable, young or otherwise.
