Columbus Blue Jackets' bad habits are back amid six-game slide

Remember when the Blue Jackets were flying high as one of the NHL’s best teams and a dark horse pick to win the Stanley Cup? More: Columbus Blue Jackets lose sixth straight game. Replay That was two weeks, eight games and seven losses ago that prompted a 24-minute postgame meeting April 4 to air a few grievances following a suffocating 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets witnessed by another mostly disappointed sellout crowd of 18,272 at Nationwide Arena.

It was the sixth straight loss for the Blue Jackets (38-27-12), a season-long skid, and they dropped to 1-6-1 since defeating the Seattle Kraken on March 31 to extend a season-high 12-game points streak. They were willing physically this time, starting strong on Ivan Provorov's goal 1:17 into the game, but their minds couldn't keep pace. “All our issues right now are just related to terrible puck management,” coach Rick Bowness said.

“Terrible. Making very poor percentage plays. We create the most chances on the forecheck in the entire league, yet we want to be getting inside the blue line and making cute little plays against good teams that are not working, and they’re not working, so I have to get after them.

They’ve got to change their mindset. ” In a nutshell, the Jets did to the Blue Jackets (38-27-12) what the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins did to them, collectively, in the previous three games. Once comfortable enough to deploy all five skaters inside the Jackets’ blue line as a forechecking force, they completely took over the game and severely tilted the ice.