Saturday night in Los Angeles, the Blue Jackets were in some ways their own worst enemy.
Columbus wasn’t necessarily outplayed by one of the best teams in the Western Conference, but they were beaten by a 5-2 score by the Kings.
And to head coach Dean Evason, the biggest difference in the game was the Blue Jackets made the crucial mistakes that are on the knife’s edge between winning and losing in the National Hockey League.
“There were just key moments in the hockey game where we gave opportunities,” Evason said as the Blue Jackets lost their fourth straight (0-3-1). “Not saying we gave (them) goals because they took advantage of some stuff. But the first goal, we turn it over. The second goal, we make a huge mistake. The third goal, we turn it over. That’s three goals.
“We have a 1-0 lead. In key areas of the ice, we have to make the right reads or clearly not turn the puck over in order to give teams momentum to come back after us. And we did that tonight.”
The result was in the end, the Blue Jackets lost the game where they had edges in shots on goal, shot attempts and scoring chances, but that may just be the difference between a team that knows how to win – Los Angeles has made three straight playoff appearances – and a squad like the CBJ that’s trying to get to that level.
“Honestly, I think we played a solid game, but at the end of the day, we want to come out with a win,” said forward Justin Danforth, who had a pair of assists in the game. “We gotta find a way to win games. That’s what playoff teams do. We have to get back on track, get a little confidence back, and we have a big game tomorrow.”
As Danforth said, there’s little time to dwell on the loss as the Blue Jackets get right back at it tonight against Anaheim. A focus will be on trying to find the goal-scoring touch the team had in the early going; after scoring six goals in four of the first eight games, Columbus has played five straight games in which the team has scored two or fewer times.
“There was a little bit (of improvement), but we can still get there,” Evason said. “I think we’re still thinking and relying off the rush, where need our offensive zone game (to be) where we’re hanging on to pucks and allowing the cycle and our movement to generate more offense than it has here the last few games.”
Know The Foe: Anaheim Ducks
Head coach: Greg Cronin (Second season)
Team stats: Goals per game: 2.08 (32nd) | Scoring defense: 3.15 (19th) | PP: 13.0 percent (28th) | PK: 72.2 percent (28th)
The narrative: The Ducks have a proud history that includes the 2007 Stanley Cup and six straight playoff appearances from 2013-18, but the franchise has endured six straight seasons since then without playoff hockey. This year hasn’t looked that much more promising yet with Anaheim seventh in the Pacific Division, but the hope is a young core that includes such players as Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson, Trevor Zegras, Cutter Gauthier, Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov – all on the current roster and 23 and under – will propel the team back into contention.
Team leaders: Troy Terry has turned from a fresh-faced youngster into a veteran leader at this point, and the 27-year-old wing leads the Ducks in both goals (five) and points (10) on the year. McTavish follows with a 2-6-8 line, while veteran Ryan Strome (3-3-6) and Carlsson (4-2-6) are next in scoring. Zellweger leads the defense with four points on two goals and two helpers.
In net, 24-year-old Czech Lukas Dostal leads the NHL in saves on the season, going 4-5-2 thus far with a 2.73 GAA and .922 save percentage.
What's new: The Ducks didn’t make a ton of changes in the offseason as the young core is the focus in the squad, but they did add some veterans up front in Robby Fabbri and Ohio native Jansen Harkins as well as defensively in Brian Dumoulin. Anaheim comes into the game on a four-game losing skid (0-3-1) in which the team has been outscored 16-6.
Trending: Columbus took three of four points a season ago, dropping a 3-2 overtime final to the Ducks in October before earning a 7-4 win in Anaheim in February. That in in the Honda Center ended a five-game winning streak for the Ducks in the series.
Former CBJ: None
