For the Blue Jackets, the three games played in the Golden State to start this road trip out West were much more Hotel California than California Dreamin’.
Columbus outshot and outchanced San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim in a trio of contests, yet they left the state with just one point, earned in an overtime setback vs. the Sharks. It felt a little bit like Groundhog Day, or perhaps the sense they could check out any time they like, but they could never leave the frustration behind.
After Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the Ducks in which Columbus had a 40-30 edge in shots on goal, the disappointment in not getting results started to boil over for defenseman Zach Werenski.
“It's unacceptable, to be honest,” he said after the team’s winless streak increased to five games (0-4-1). “Enough of the moral victories. We've played well enough in a lot of games this year to win and we end up losing them, and that's on us. We have to look ourselves in the mirror and find a way to win hockey games.
"I don't care if we outshoot them 50-20 or we get outshot 50-20. At the end of the day, we have to find ways to get points in this league and win hockey games, and we haven't done it.”
The Blue Jackets have scored just nine goals in the five-game skid, and they haven’t scored more than two tallies in any of the quintet of games. Against Anaheim, Columbus did pepper goalie John Gibson with 85 shot attempts, but it looked at times like the Blue Jackets were looking for the perfect play rather than just trying to get the puck to the net and either use a screen or get a rebound to score a goal.
It’s in sharp contrast to the beginning of the season, when the Blue Jackets scored six goals in four of the first eight games.
"Goal scoring is funny, right?” head coach Dean Evason said. “It goes in streaks. A few weeks back, we couldn't miss, and pucks were finding their way in and we were getting some bounces and all that good stuff. Now it's gone the other way a little bit.
“There's nothing we can do about it now except move forward and keep doing those things to get those opportunities, maybe get a few more second, third and fourth opportunities off of some sprayed pucks in the offensive zone.”
The good news for the Blue Jackets is they’ve left California, heading now to the Pacific Northwest to take on Seattle to close the road trip. The bad news is things won’t necessarily come any easier against the Kraken, but Evason just wants his team to keep going with the belief that better things are on the horizon.
“Stay as positive as you can and simplify when things are going not your way,” he said when asked the keys for a team to get out of a slump like the one the Blue Jackets are in. “You have to stay positive and you have to simplify your game, just take everything one step at a time. Our group’s been good about that so far. It’s been early, obviously.
“But, you know, when it turns, it can turn quickly. We have to believe that it’s gonna turn right away.”
Know The Foe: Seattle Kraken
Head coach: Dan Bylsma (First season)
Team stats: Goals per game: 2.87 (19th) | Scoring defense: 3.20 (19th) | PP: 17.4 percent (21st) | PK: 77.6 percent (19th)
The narrative: The Kraken made waves two years ago in their second season when they knocked the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche out of the playoffs, but that wasn't a harbinger of things to come. The squad fell short of the postseason picture a season ago and has won just six of its first 15 games this year under new coach Bylsma, who was brought in to replace Dave Hakstol. That’s left some fans with the blues a-callin', but there is some young talent in the organization that could bring results in the years to come.
Team leaders: Jared McCann has blossomed into an impressive scorer, and the 28-year-old leads the squad with both seven goals and 17 points. Offseason acquisition Brandon Montour is next in scoring, leading the blue line with 11 points on four goals and seven assists. Jordan Eberle (6-3-9), Matty Beniers (3-6-9) and Chandler Stephenson (1-8-9) are next on the scoring chart.
In net, Joey Daccord leads the team with nine starts and is 5-3-1 with a 2.79 GAA and .912 save percentage.
What's new: After last year’s disappointing campaign, the Kraken not only opted to change coaches, they hit free agency hard by acquiring Montour and Stephenson, two players with Stanley Cup rings in their possession. At the end of the day, though, their success will largely come from the growth of such young players as Beniers (22 years old), forward Shane Wright (21), forward Ryan Winterton (21) and defenseman Ryker Evans (23). The Kraken have lost seven of nine (2-6-1) coming in but did break a four-game losing skid in their last game, downing Vegas by a 4-3 score in overtime Friday.
Trending: The Kraken won both games a season ago, a 7-4 decision in Nationwide Arena on Jan. 13 and a 4-2 final in Seattle just 15 days later. After sweeping the series in the Kraken’s inaugural season of 2022-23, the Blue Jackets have lost the last four games to Seattle.
Former CBJ: Now in his third season with the Kraken, Oliver Bjorkstrand has four goals among his six points on the season.
