Playoff hopes have suddenly become a playoff pipe dream for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets came unglued in the third period on Saturday, coughing up three goals in a 5-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs before 19,179 in Scotiabank Arena. It marked the eighth time this season Columbus has been shut out, and five of those have occurred in the last 14 games.
After becoming one of the NHL’s best stories for most of this season, and playing well above expectations, the Blue Jackets have looked for more than a month now as if the stage is suddenly too big for them. They’re just 4-10-1, with only two regulation wins, since March 1.
“It got away from us,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “We did some individual things (in the third period) that we don’t normally do. Are we disappointed in that? Yeah. Did we address it already? Yeah.”
Evason didn’t provide specifics, but he admitted that there was some internal conflict in the form of fingerprinting among the Blue Jackets either during the game or after Saturday’s game.
You can understand why tempers would be running hot. Coupled with Thursday’s 7-3 loss to Colorado, the Jackets have now allowed 10 unanswered goals.
“That (fingerpointing) is exactly what we addressed (after the game),” Evason said. “We’ve stuck together all year. Why would we change at this point? Forget about pressure and whatever, all of that. You don’t change because there’s a situation that’s a little bit negative, and we haven’t.
“We’ve done it a couple of times (this season), maybe, and tonight we certainly did. So we addressed it real early.”
You can understand why it’s a stressful situation.
The Blue Jackets only remained in the playoff race because the other teams around them battling for a playoff spot have been coughing and hacking almost as badly as the Jackets. The New York Rangers, New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings can’t get it together, either.
But the Montreal Canadiens have awakened in recent days, grabbing a firmer hold on the top wild-card spot in the East.
A 3-2 win over Philadelphia on Saturday has opened a six-point lead over the Blue Jackets, who have only seven games remaining. The Jackets also now trail the Rangers and Red Wings in the standings, giving them two more obstacles.
Even if they win their final seven games — and what indication is there that a seven-game win streak is in the offing? — The Jackets are a long shot for the postseason.
RIP IT LIKE ROBBY! pic.twitter.com/010fj81wQT
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 5, 2025
Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, who was pulled from a start on Thursday, was sent back out for another start on Saturday. He was better, but still played a role in the Maple Leafs’ 1-0 goal at 10:03 of the first period, the 11th time in 12 games Columbus has allowed the first goal.
Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski was carrying a puck back into his defensive zone, when his exit pass caromed off the right and then left skate of Leafs forward Steven Lorentz, sending the puck slowly toward Merzlikins in his crease.
Rather than freeze the puck, Merzlikins fired a hard pass back at Werenski from close range, the puck kicking off the inside of Werenski’s left skate and skidding into the slot where the Leafs pounced. Nick Robertson scored for the slot, the first of his two goals, for a 1-0 lead.
The lead grew to 2-0 in the second period on a tough break. Jackets defenseman Dante Fabbro was backpedaling when the puck hopped over his stick and continued right into Robertson’s path for a clean look on Merzlikins.
The wheels came off in the third period. It was 3-0 and 4-0 only 3:10 apart early in the third period on goals by William Nylander. Auston Matthews joined the party late in the third to cap the scoring.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating,” Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson said. “We played downhill on them in the first period, for sure. I thought we did it for the most part in the second, too.
“We maybe fought the puck and stepped away from our game trying to get back in the game in the third. It’s frustrating. You have to press, but you have to press responsibly, right? That’s a team (Toronto) that can make you pay pretty quickly.”
He Willy waited awhile eh 😎 pic.twitter.com/DERdsrduTO
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 6, 2025
Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner was more pointed.
“The third period … we’re down 2-0, but we didn’t play nearly as hard or good enough for the final 20, and that’s what happens. That’s on us. We have to be a lot better as a group.
“I don’t think we were desperate enough in the third period. They come out and score pretty much right away (1:11). That’s on us. You have to go out and play hard and give yourself a chance to win. First period, second period, we had some good minutes. In the third, the push wasn’t good enough.”
The Blue Jackets packed up after the game and flew to Ottawa, where they’ll play the first in a home-and-home series on Sunday against the Senators.
As if the hill isn’t steep enough now, there’s this: the Jackets are 1-9-0 in the second game of a back-to-back, one of the worst records in the NHL.
“We professionals, we have a job to do for 60 minutes,” Blue Jackets winger Mathieu Olivier said. “We kind of let it slip away in the third.
“All year, we’ve done a good job handling adversity and now we’re right back at it (on Saturday).”
(Photo: Nick Turchiaro / Imagn Images)