Though the Blue Jackets have won a lot of games over the last six weeks, they haven't been playing well and it has finally caught up to them.
After scoring the first two goals of the game, they couldn't stay out of the box, and allowed three power play goals in the 3rd period en route to a disappointing regulation loss.
10 takeaways:
1) Coughing up a 2-0 lead and losing in regulation is a tough pill to swallow any way you slice it, but the Blue Jackets had absolutely no business being in the game against Montreal. Right from the word go the Habs took it to them at 5 vs 5, and the Blue Jackets were extremely undisciplined. That's not exactly a recipe for success. Columbus was outshot 31-16 and out-chanced 24-13 at even-strength, so in the end they got the result they deserved.
2) Sergei Bobrovsky put forth another strong performance, and was one of only a few Blue Jackets to do so. He made several big saves throughout, and was really the only reason Montreal didn't win in a blowout.
3) Ryan Johansen's 3rd period goal extended his point-streak to a season-high 11 games. This is his second 10+ game point-streak this year, which is pretty remarkable considering the season is only half over. He sure looks like he's suffering from no training camp, eh?
4) I thought Jeremy Morin did some good things, but once again his ice time was limited. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. He was one of a few Blue Jackets who had positive possession numbers, and he made a nice play intercepting a pass, drawing a penalty and setting up Columbus' 1st goal. He should be playing more than 10 minutes a night.
5) Kevin Connauton: seven goals in his last 15 games. Pretty good waiver pickup, I'd say.
6) I liked what I saw from Alex Wennberg. Playing over 13 minutes he posted a 67CF% at even-strength with just 20% offensive zone starts, and he also did some good work on the penalty kill. Hopefully he can keep that going.
7) I'm really not sure why Jared Boll continues to be in the lineup on a nightly basis. I'm sure he is well liked by his teammates and he is a physical player, but not much good tends to happen when he's on the ice. The Blue Jackets didn't generate one shot attempt during his 4:20TOI at even-strength, and he took a bad penalty late that the Habs capitalized on to tie the game.
8) I don't like calling for anyone's job, but you have to wonder if Todd Richards' leash is shortening. The Blue Jackets have a good chunk of their bodies back from injury, yet they are still consistently outshot/outplayed. That needs to change.
9) According to SportsClubStats.com the Blue Jackets have a 0.05% chance of making the playoffs. They're 13 points back of Boston for the final wild card spot, and they'd need to pass five teams to get in so that number doesn't seem that much of a stretch.
10) SportsClubStats suggests the Blue Jackets need to go 26-11-5 down the stretch to have a 55% chance of getting in the playoffs. That may not seem like much, but that's a tall order for a team that has fought injuries and is getting outplayed on a nightly basis. If they don't start playing significantly better at even-strength, and fast, they will be closer to last place than a playoff spot.
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