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Less than zero? Leafs beat bumbling Blue Jackets for first win

When the Columbus Blue Jackets fell to 0-3, their GM said that his team was “off the rails.”

After an ugly defeat left Sergei Bobrovsky and his squad at 0-4, the $7.425 million goalie admitted he has “zero confidence.”

What will be said after the Toronto Maple Leafs beat them 6-3 to drop Columbus down to 0-5 on the season? Some can’t help but wonder if the words might include “you’re fired.”

It would be one thing if the Blue Jackets were merely victims of bad bounces or questionable calls, as might have been the case with the Leo Komarov goal featured above (which may have involved too many men on the ice for Toronto.)

Instead, the Blue Jackets aren’t just losing, they’re getting crushed, and telecasts are really zooming in on Embattled Todd Richards.

Calgary Flames  v Columbus Blue Jackets

via Getty

NHLI via Getty Images

Speaking of telecasts, TSN noted that the Blue Jackets are equaling the 1995-96 Montreal Canadiens in a dubious stat: they’ve lost their first five games, with each defeat coming by a margin of at least two goals.

It’s easy to beat up on Bobrovsky, especially since he’s earning such hefty checks, yet the sad thing for Columbus is that there’s plenty of blame to go around. It’s not just one issue.

They didn’t just lose tonight, they were out-shot and often out-worked.

All five of these Blue Jackets losses came at home, too, squandering crucial opportunities to sock away points with a foreboding stretch coming on Oct. 22.

For all we know, this team could already look pretty different by then. Right now, it doesn’t look pretty.

Note: The Maple Leafs faced a mix of good news (their first win of 2015-16 after falling short despite steady effort) and bad (Tyler Bozak suffers lower-body injury) in this one.