Nobody expected the Columbus Blue Jackets to battle for a playoff spot this season. Nobody expected the NHL standings to be a pretty picture for the Blue Jackets, who have been a bottom-of-the-barrel club for the past two seasons.
But if you’ve watched this club closely this season — and with all of their young talent, they’re finally worth watching — it’s hard to ignore how different their outlook might be if they weren’t so cursed by games settled during three-on-three overtime.
The Blue Jackets on Saturday blew leads of 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3 before losing 5-4 in overtime to the Philadelphia Flyers in front of 18,644 in Wells Fargo Center. The Jackets allowed five goals after the second period and dropped to 1-6 in games settled in OT.
Good news: They’re currently only four points out of the final wild-card spot despite their OT struggles.
Philadelphia’s Owen Tippett capped a four-point night (1-3-4) by scoring on a breakaway at 3:30 of overtime, drawing Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins forward by faking a shot, only to draw back the puck and score off his backhand.
The Blue Jackets possessed the puck for almost all of the overtime period, but generated only one shot: a Kirill Marchenko wrister from mid-range that was denied by Flyers goaltender Sam Ersson only 17 seconds into overtime.
“We had a couple of glorious chances in overtime, too,” Evason told reporters in Philadelphia. “It could easily be a different chat we’re having right now.”
This is how overtime has gone lately for the Blue Jackets: they possess the puck for long stretches at the start of three-on-three play, but once it goes the other direction … turn out the lights. The Jackets have lost four straight overtime games.
“Marchy … we need to finish that,” Evason said. “Obviously he’s upset about not scoring there. We had a glorious chance to end the game and their goalie makes a save. They catch a break in overtime.
“It’s not structural. We’re not breaking down. We took a chance and we got maybe a little fatigued before they got the two-on-one (leading to Tippett’s goal).”
OT IN OT 🗣️
Owen Tippett makes a beautiful move in tight to win the game in @Energizer overtime! pic.twitter.com/hpvqwGhdPx
— NHL (@NHL) December 22, 2024
The Blue Jackets’ .142 OT winning percentage is tied with the New York Islanders (also 1-6) as the worst in the NHL. Only Nashville (2-7, .222) has more OT losses.
In order for the game to get to OT, the Blue Jackets allowed the Flyers to score an extra-attacker goal with 1:44 remaining regulation to tie it at 4. They pulled Ersson only 11 seconds earlier, allowing an extra forward to take the ice.
That scenario has been another sore spot for Columbus this season. After Saturday’s game, they’re second in the NHL with six extra-attacker goals allowed. Only Toronto (seven) has allowed more.
“I’d like to clean up our five-on-six a little bit,” Evason said. “We didn’t put enough pressure on them.”
Mathieu Olivier, Mikael Pyyhtiä, Marchenko and Jake Christiansen scored goals for the Blue Jackets, while Merzlikins, coming off a brilliant performance on Thursday, had 25 stops. He stopped all 16 shots in the first two periods before allowing 5 on 14 in the third and OT.
There was a scary moment at 1:52 of the third period when Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski tumbled while checking Tippett along the wall and slammed into the boards, his left knee taking the thrust of the impact and bending backward awkwardly.
Werenski stayed down on the ice while play continued, but trainer Mike Vogt rushed after him at the ensuing whistle. Werenski made it off the ice under his own power, but he was clearly favoring his left leg as he made it to the bench and onto the dressing room.
Good news: Werenski returned to the bench at 6:18 of the period during a TV timeout, using the break in the action to skate gingerly around the ice. He could be seen stretching his leg and working on twists and turns, putting increasingly more stress on the knee.
When play resumed, he was on the ice, taking a shift. He finished the game — and drew 27:27 of ice time — but it wasn’t a pretty finish.
Werenski was on the ice for all five of the Flyers’ goals, and he was clearly limited in his movement, especially compared to his usual flawless floating. He finished with a minus-4 rating, and Evason said he had issues related to the injury near the end of the game.
“I’m hoping he doesn’t seize up now because he was at the end (of regulation) and overtime,” Evason said. “He’s obviously a massive part of our hockey club. Hopefully he can go.”
For the third time in four games, the Blue Jackets played at least one defenseman short. On Saturday, while Werenski was in the dressing room, the Jackets played without defenseman Jordan Harris, though it wasn’t clear if he was injured.
Harris played only three shifts in the third period, the last one with 8:34 remaining.
The Blue Jackets have one game — Monday vs. Montreal in Nationwide Arena — before the NHL takes its annual three-day break for the holidays. It might be arriving at the right time.
(Photo: Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)
