That's one hell of a choke job.
The Columbus Blue Jackets, at one point in this game, had a 4-1 lead, had chased the Calgary Flames' starting goaltender, and looked to be cruising. Roughly 13 minutes later, not only was the lead gone, but the Blue Jackets found themselves in a 6-4 hole.
Columbus, to their credit, did fight back. Nick Foligno scored to make it 6-5 before the end of the second period, but Calgary came out firing in the third to make it 8-5, chasing Sergei Bobrovsky in the process.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| FLAMES | 1 | 5 | 3 | 9 |
Cam Atkinson's hat trick goal brought the Blue Jackets within two, but it wouldn't last. It's not often that a team scores six regulation goals and loses in a blowout, but that's just how bad the Blue Jackets were defensively tonight.
The end result? Zero points gained in the standings and a bit of Blue Jackets history, as tonight's combined goal total of 15 is the most in any game they have played in franchise history.
Atkinson's night could certainly be considered a silver lining, though. His three goals bring him up to 19 on the season and a stellar 19-11–30 line through 26 games.
Atkinson... so hot right now.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/dYYe6KCs4g
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 5, 2018
Injury Update
Anthony Duclair missed tonight's game and is considered day-to-day, but it's unclear how much of that is health related and how much of it is due to apparent effort issues that have been discussed at length by coach John Tortorella.
Next Up
Two Metropolitan Division foes away for the Columbus Blue Jackets – first, a road game against Philadelphia on Friday and then a Saturday home game against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals.
