The Blue Jackets had a four-point homestand weekend sitting on a tee and walked away with one. In late March, that’s not just a missed opportunity. It’s a self-inflicted wound.
Saturday: up 2–0 entering the third against a non-playoff San Jose team, lose 3–2 in regulation.
Sunday: up 3–0 entering the third on fellow wildcard combatant Boston, give up three in the third, lose in a shootout.
One point out of four. With eight games left. In the middle of a crowded wild card race.
And it wasn't just the collapses. It was how they came about. Saturday saw the Sharks pepper the Blue Jackets with 36 shots. Sunday, the Bruins went higher, registering 38 shots against the Jackets. The two are the most surrendered by a Bowness-led Blue Jackets team since he took over for Dean Evason in early January.
Suppressing shots against and odd-man rushes against has been a hallmark of Bowness' formula in Columbus. Prior to this weekend, the Jackets had held opponents to 25.67 shots per game in the Bowness era.
Rick Bowness didn’t dance around it.
"Well, we got away from being aggressive and I felt we got really selfish with the puck," the veteran coach said after the loss to Boston.
"I felt we got selfish with the puck."– Rick Bowness
That’s the headline and the diagnosis. The Blue Jackets didn’t lose these games because of bad luck or hot goaltending. They stopped playing the right way.
Bowness called Sunday’s first period “the best I’ve seen since I’ve been here.” It looked like a team that understood the moment: fast, direct, aggressive.
Then came the third.
The Jackets backed off. They managed the puck poorly. They took bad penalties. And Boston, a team that doesn’t need much oxygen, buried them for it.
"Some of these guys, they've got a lot to learn about how to play in this league this time of year," Bowness said. "It gets harder and harder and harder. And we're going to keep reminding them and reminding them every day how hard it is to win at this time of the year.
"There's a lot to be learned from some of these guys and they better damn well start listening."
"There's a lot to be learned for some of these guys and they better damn well start listening."– Rick Bowness
That’s not a subtle message. This is what playoff hockey feels like before the playoffs—tight games, momentum swings, and zero margin for mental lapses. Columbus didn’t handle it.
Columbus is hanging onto a wild card spot, but barely, and games in hand around them make it even tighter.
This weekend was supposed to create separation. Instead, it invited pressure.
You don’t bank points in March, you pay for it in April.
There’s no time to reset against a bottom-feeder. Up next: a home-and-home with Carolina, the top team in the Eastern Conference. If Columbus brings that third-period version into Tuesday or Thursday, those games won’t be coin flips, they’ll be over early.
Bowness knows it.
"When we get away from it and start thinking about the wrong net, we get in trouble," he said. "Very simple. I've been talking to them about it since the break. It's hard. And every game gets harder."
He said the message will stay positive, but the expectation is simple: play that first period for the entire game.
"It's all going to be positive going into Tuesday. We're not going to look back on this and dwell on it too much. Play like we did that first period for 60 minutes and that's it."
