When things spiral, they spiral fast.
The Columbus Blue Jackets fell to the Detroit Red Wings 4-0 on Monday at Nationwide Arena.
Dylan Larkin and Andrew Copp scored power-play goals, and Michael Rasmussen scored as part of a three-goal second period for Detroit. Shayne Gostisbehere also scored.
Larkin is on a three-game point streak (one goal, two assists) as is Gostisbehere (one goal, two assists).
Joe Veleno, Olli Maatta, J.T. Compher, Alex DeBrincat, Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, and Jake Walman had assists. Compher is on a three-game point streak (one goal, three assists). DeBrincat also has points in three straight (three goals, two assists).
James Reimer made his first start as a Red Wing to pick up the win and made all 23 saves for his 29th career shutout. He's the third goalie in Red Wings history to record a shutout in his team debut.
Spencer Martin made his first start for the Blue Jackets and made 24 saves on 28 shots.
Monday Blues
Thursday's opening night 4-2 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers featured a sloppy Blue Jackets team that left a fuming Pascal Vincent wondering what happened.
That resulted in Vincent putting the club through the wringer during Friday's practice with hard skating and one-on-one battle drills.
On Saturday, Vincent's Jackets turned in an impressive 5-3 win over the Metropolitan rival New York Rangers.
So, what kind of team would we see on Monday over Detroit?
Columbus led the 5v5 analytical battle with 0.84 xGF to 0.39, but Detroit led on the scoreboard after one period thanks to Gostisbehere's goal at 8:51.
Not so bad, right?
Three Red Wing goals — two on the power play — later in the second period put this one to bed. Columbus was outshot 13-4 in the middle frame and 28-23 for the game.
Detroit turned the tables with the xGF edge, 0.55 - 0.15 in the second period, 0.60 - 0.14 in the third period, and 1.45 - 1.16 for the game per Natural Stat Trick.
Martin's Bad Luck
Martin made his first start for the Blue Jackets with Elvis Merzlikins still ailing with flu-like symptoms. Jet Greaves was added on emergency recall and served as the backup.
After an encouraging first period that saw the Jackets trailing by a lone goal, Detroit exploded for three second-period goals, with two coming 1:04 apart on the power play.
Martin has lost 11 consecutive decisions dating back to last season with the Vancouver Canucks. His last win came on Dec. 27 versus the San Jose Sharks.
Martin's highlight came on a third-period penalty shot when he stopped Copp with the glove save.
Special Teams Not So Special
Columbus suffered their first shutout of the season, and the special teams didn't have a great night. The penalty kill allowed two goals on five opportunities, and the power play was 0-for-4.
The only offense by Columbus came in the form of Erik Gudbranson's fists during a third-period fight with Klim Kostin.
Gudbranson takes exception to a Kostin hit on Sillinger and the two will drop the gloves. Kostin is a big dude and held his own against Gudbranson but it was a good, old-school tilt. Probably a good moment for 44 to go there. #CBJ
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) October 17, 2023
Heres Erik Gudbransons fight against Klim Kostin, who made an open-ice hit on Cole Sillinger. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/VrBm4QZd2W
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) October 17, 2023
Homestand Wrap Up
The Blue Jackets finish their four-game homestand with the Calgary Flames on Friday, Oct. 20. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. ET.
