Last season the Columbus Blue Jackets were battered by injuries. This time around they’re just hurting.
In Brandon Saad’s return to Chicago following a summer trade, the Blue Jackets came up flat in a 4-1 loss to the Blackhawks. That’s the sixth straight game that Columbus has allowed at least four goals, but the Blue Jackets’ offense was certainly a problem tonight too.
After getting through 20 minutes with the game locked in a scoreless tie, Columbus only managed three shots on goal in the second period.
“It felt, uh, boring in the second, a little bit,” goaltender Corey Crawford said of the second period, per NHL.com’s Brian Hedger.
Curtis McElhinney, making his first start of the season, likely didn’t feel the same. He was bombarded with 15 shots in that frame and surrendered goals to Artem Anisimov and Teuvo Teravainen.
Columbus did at least manage to make Crawford work in the third period and prevent the shutout, but it was too little, too late.
The Blue Jackets are now 0-6-0 and this could get even uglier given their schedule. They’ll face the New York Islanders on Tuesday before starting a stretch where they’ll play seven of eight games on the road.
Crawford: "I thought we played really well but it was kind of a flat game, most of it there. There wasn’t much going on." #Blackhawks
— Tracey Myers (@Tramyers_NHL) October 18, 2015
In what Darryl Sutter calls a "3-2 league," CBJ is giving up an average of 4.8 goals per game.https://t.co/AZyXTfDQ3u
— Mike Halford (@MikeHalford604) October 18, 2015