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Columbus Blue Jackets face weekend blowouts with intense practice

Pabio November 5, 2024

The Blue Jackets hit the reset button.

After large margins of defeat in consecutive losses has the Winnipeg Jets And Washington Capitalsthe Jackets returned to practice Monday at Nationwide Arena. After a detailed video of what happened in the losses that resulted in a combined 13-4 defeat margin, the Jackets shifted their focus forward – and west – to a road trip of four games that begin Tuesday in San Jose.

The coaching staff, led by head coach Dean Evason, turned up the intensity with some high-volume licks and barbed comments during a demanding 45-minute workout.

“It was worse (watching the video),” Evason said. “There’s going to be some mistakes, but we could have corrected them or helped mitigate that scoring opportunity by working, and we didn’t do that. This is not what we have been and this is not what we will become in the future. So we had to make a little adjustment today.

It’s still early in the 82-game NHL season, so the Blue Jackets are hovering around .500 at 5-5-1, meaning they’re still fifth in the Metropolitan Division with an upcoming slate against teams which are not as good. imposing like the Jets and Capitals. It starts with the San Jose Sharkswho are 3-8-2 with a minus-18 goal differential. Addressing what happened over the last two games was essential in the process of transforming the Jackets into a legitimate playoff contender.

“The guys know that we as coaches … there is no gray,” Evason said. “It’s black and white. It’s just, “That’s what happened.” We looked at every goal this morning, and it didn’t bother the guys. It’s teaching, it’s learning and it’s being responsible. If you’re on six of these clips, so be it. You are the one who will teach us not to do the things that were done to allow teams to score on us.

The Sharks lost 3-2 to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday after winning their previous three games. So they are playing better since losing nine games during a bad start. Tuesday’s game, however, should be an opportunity for the Blue Jackets to get back on track.

“We learned from it today and we’re moving on now,” defenseman Zach Werenski said. “It’s quite simple. We watched videos about it, our mistakes, we had a tough practice and now we’re moving on and getting ready for San Jose. We faced two good teams. This isn’t an excuse for the way we played these games, but I think it revealed what could happen when you don’t play your game and you don’t play hard enough.

The Blue Jackets will also get three days in Southern California before another back-to-back Saturday and Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings (6-3-3) and Anaheim Ducks (4-5-2). The Kings are built to play a similar style to Winnipeg and Washington, while Anaheim is almost a reflection of Columbus. The trip concludes next week with a match on Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken (5-7-1), who have the same point total as the Blue Jackets (11) after two more games.

If they right the ship, this trip could bolster the Jackets’ chances of surprising the NHL by remaining in the early Eastern Conference playoffs.

“It’s a long season,” center Sean Monahan said. “You’re not going to forget (the last two games). You have to remember how it feels and remember that the style of play doesn’t give you success. When you look at the video that we watched as a team, it shows that there is a direct correlation between not working and not doing the things we did earlier in the year to be successful.”

After the Blue Jackets practice on Monday, injured forward Kent Johnson ready for a solo workout session at the Ice Haus while rehabilitation and recovery Since a shoulder injury.

After consulting with specialists, Johnson will avoid another shoulder operation to repair damage caused by a trip on teammate James van Riemsdyk in the fourth game of the season. Evason had no update on Johnson, whose return to skating was new to him.

Evason did not say whether Johnson would make the trip out West with the Blue Jackets or whether he would stay in Columbus to continue skating on his own. The Blue Jackets plan to hold team building activities during the off days Wednesday and Thursday in the Los Angeles area, but Evason also declined to elaborate on what that entails.

Columbus Blue Jackets’ Kevin Labanc ‘excited’ to return to San Jose

This is Kevin Labanc’s ninth season in the NHL and first not playing for the Sharks, which makes his first trip back to San Jose with an opposing team a bit odd. He’s trying to stay focused on helping the Blue Jackets turn around more than his feelings about facing his old team for the first time.

“I’m just going to try to keep things as simple as possible, and go in with the mentality of only scoring two points and not making things too emotional,” Labanc said. “It’s going to be exciting. I know a lot of guys there. I was there for eight years, so that’s where I started as a kid and came out as a man. I’m excited to go out there and play against them.

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@BrianHedger