Columbus Blue Jackets stumble again in loss to Anaheim Ducks: 3 takeaways
Frustrations are boiling over now.
The Blue Jackets haven’t won in five straight games after falling, 4-2, to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday at Honda Center, which stings because they dominated nearly everything but goals again. John Gibson, making his season debut, became the latest goalie to stymie the Blue Jackets with a 38-save performance to win a game his team was outshot 40-30 and spent extended time in the defensive zone.
More: Rewind: Columbus Blue Jackets lose 4-2 to Anaheim Ducks, drop fifth straight
It resembled the Blue Jackets’ 2-1 in overtime loss Tuesday in San Jose, when they outshot the Sharks 50-27 and lost the opener of a four-game road trip. Now, after a promising 5-3-1 start, the Blue Jackets are 5-7-2 and reeling amid a five-game skid.
“I don’t care if we outshoot them 50-20 or we get outshot 50-20,” Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said during postgame interviews on the FanDuel Sports Network. “At the end of the day, we have to find a way to get points in this league and win hockey games, and we haven’t done it.”
Here are three takeaways:
Urgency skyrockets for spiraling Columbus Blue Jackets
All it takes is a glance at the Blue Jackets’ schedule to see how important the finale of their trip is Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken.
After that game, they return to Nationwide Arena for a pitstop Friday against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins – a team that historically has owned them – before heading back to the road for games in Montreal and Boston. Should none of those games end their winless slide, it’d reach eight straight defeats going into a four-game homestand later this month that starts with games against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes.
Those are the type of skids that sunk the Blue Jackets to the NHL’s basement the past two years, so the importance of ending this one in Seattle has grown exponentially. The seas aren’t exactly friendly for the Jackets, who’ve averaged just 1.8 goals in their past six games after averaging 4.1 through the first eight.
“At the end of the day, we have to find a way to get into the win column on this trip and Seattle’s our last chance,” Werenski said. “We’re working hard, and the process is right and all that, but at the end of the day, you have to find wins and we’re not doing it. This is unacceptable.”
Zach Werenski still firing away for Columbus Blue Jackets
Werenski hasn’t scored a goal in seven games, but the Jackets’ top defenseman continues to soak up ice time and launch attempts in large quantities.
While logging his 500th NHL game Sunday to become the 10th player in Blue Jackets history to play that many with the club, he sent 18 attempts from his stick, putting eight on goal. According to FanDuel Sports Network, that was the highest number of attempts (shots on goal, shots blocked and misses) by a Blue Jackets player since the NHL began tracking it 11 years ago.
It was the seventh time in Werenski’s career that he’s finished with eight shots on goal, which is two shy of his career-high 10 shots in a game — which he’s done twice. Werenski, however, didn’t score against the Ducks and only has one goal among his top nine shot totals.
“I’ve obviously gone through slumps before,” Werenski said. “I had a lot of ‘Grade A’ chances (Sunday) and I didn’t score, but it’s on everyone. We’ve got to find ways to score goals and win hockey games.”
According to Natural Stat Trick, Werenski is third in the NHL in attempts (123) thus far, trailing Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg (129) and Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak (125).
Leo Carlsson edges Adam Fantilli in first NHL matchup
Going into the 2023 NHL Draft, the Ducks held the second overall pick, and the Blue Jackets had the third.
Anaheim’s interest in Carlsson quickly spread leading into the first round, and the Ducks took him one spot ahead of Fantilli going to the Blue Jackets. Sunday’s matchup was the first time they’ve faced each other after the Ducks “rested” Carlsson last season at Nationwide Arena and Fantilli missed the game in Anaheim with a calf laceration.
Fantilli, who moved from center of the second line to left wing on the top unit, didn’t collect a point while logging the second-highest ice time (21:39) of his career. He made a nice play on Kirill Marchenko’s goal in the third period, but it wasn’t credited with an assist.
Carlsson skated 15:44 centering the Ducks’ third line and scored the winning goal, putting Anaheim up 3-1 midway through the third. It was his only shot, while Fantilli finished without a shot on five attempts. The next time they’re slated to square off is Dec. 14 in Columbus to conclude the season series.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets stumble against Anaheim Ducks: 3 takeaways
