Columbus Blue Jackets downed by Nashville Predators to finish winless trip: 3 takeaways
Mercifully, the Blue Jackets have only one game left.
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After finishing their road trip 0-4-0 with a 6-4 loss Saturday to the Nashville Predators in Nashville, the Blue Jackets had a road losing streak extend to 11 straight games before they return to Nationwide Arena to finish the season Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
"There were parts of the game where we competed, and there were parts of the game where we got away from our game a little bit," Blue Jackets forward Justin Danforth said. "This team's too good, though. They'll make you pay. ... they made us pay when we made mistakes."
The offseason can’t arrive soon enough for the injury-maligned Jackets (26-43-12), who are missing half their usual lineup and played Nashville without center Brendan Gaunce (upper body). They trailed 3-1 after one period and 6-2 starting the third, before Danforth fed Trey Fix-Wolansky for a couple goals to make the final margin more respectable.
James Malatesta’s first NHL goal put Columbus up 1-0 just 2:04 into the game, also set up by Danforth, but Nashville (47-29-5) won comfortably by dominating the rest of the opening period and all of the second. Roman Josi had two goals, two assists and four points for the Predators, who also got Tommy Novak's three points on two goals and one assist.
Filip Forsberg and Cody Glass scored the other two goals for Nashville, which got two assists each from Luke Evangelista and former Blue Jackets forward Gustav Nyquist. Rookie Jet Greaves took his third straight goaltending loss for the Blue Jackets, whose goals were scored by Fix-Wolansky, Malatesta and Alexandre Texier.
"At the end of the day, we're not looking to fight from behind and lose games," Danforth said. "At the end of the day, we lost the game 6-4. We want to win games. We wanted to win these final two. Couldn't get this one, so we get another chance against Carolina and hopefully we can end the season on a good note."
Here are three takeaways:
Columbus Blue Jackets' injury rash caught up with them during 11-game road skid
There were times during the Jackets’ final two road trips when it looked like they were playing out the string to end another long, injury-riddled, maddening season.
Looks can be deceiving.
More likely, it was their injury/absence situation simply catching up to the Blue Jackets after an early valiant effort to overcome all the losses. After losing Gaunce with an upper-body injury, they went back up to 11 missing players that included seven NHL regulars plus goalies Daniil Tarasov (upper body) and Elvis Merzlikins (lower body).
Greaves and Malcolm Subban, emergency recalls who should be helping AHL Cleveland surge toward the postseason, have handled the goaltending duties the past five games. Also missing are captain Boone Jenner (personal), Patrik Laine (NHL/NHLPA player assistance), Adam Fantilli (calf laceration), Kent Johnson (shoulder surgery), Jake Bean (lower body), Yegor Chinakhov (upper body) and Adam Boqvist (concussion).
That’s no way to go through a single NHL game, let alone the last 10-15 games of a schedule that concluded almost exclusively with playoff-bound opponents. The Blue Jackets were outscored 18-6 during the road trip and have an ugly -30 goal differential (49-19) during their 11-game road losing skid.
That’s not indicative of effort. It’s a reality check.
Columbus Blue Jackets' rookie James Malatesta shows off shot with first NHL goal in loss to Nashville Panthers
Throwing his body around wasn’t an issue for Malatesta in the first nine games of his NHL career. He’s a “disturber” type of who models himself after pestilent Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand, so it wasn’t hard to start making a name for himself physically.
Getting shots and scoring chances is a different story, but Malatesta finally got enough of those in game No. 10, in Nashville. His three shots equaled the number of hits he was credited with landing, including his first NHL goal on his first shot. After Danforth won a faceoff, Malatesta dragged the puck around Nyquist’s stick before firing a wrist shot over Saros’ shoulder and under the crossbar on the blocker side.
It was a snipe that rewarded the stout 5-foot-9, 191-pound winger for all the hard work he’d put into the start of his NHL career. Even before Malatesta’s first goal, Blue Jackets coach Pascal liked what he’d seen of the fiery rookie.
“We’re lacking those types of players a little bit ... those gritty, in-your-face, disturber kind of guys,” Vincent said. “Every game, there’s somebody chasing him around, and that’s a good thing when it’s done right. And, so far, he’s been doing it right. ... He wants to be seen. Every game, he’s been given an opportunity, and every game we’re like, ‘Well, he’s doing it again.’ When you do that consistently, you find yourself in a position where you’re in the NHL all the time. And that’s what he’s been doing.”
Columbus Blue Jackets' Trey Fix-Wolansky breaks drought with two goals in loss to Nashville Predators
Fix-Wolansky's last NHL goal prior to the two he netted in Nashville was scored more than a year ago.
He scored April 11, 2023 against the Philadelphia Flyers and hadn’t gotten one since, going 10 NHL games over a span of two seasons between goals. That doesn’t seem like that long of a dry spell until you realize this was only his 10th game in a season that has included multiple recalls from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.
Fix-Wolansky's scoring line is now 2-1-3 in the NHL this season to go with 24-34-58 in 55 games to lead the Monsters in scoring. Time might soon run out for Fix-Wolansky’s NHL aspirations in Columbus, but scoring twide against the Predators was a welcome relief.
“That was a big weight lifted off my shoulders,” Fix-Wolansky said. “I’ve been trying to buy one for a while, so it was nice to see two go in tonight.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets' road losing streak moves to 11: takeaways
