GM Jarmo Kekalainen on Columbus Blue Jackets at midpoint: 'We've got to keep climbing'
Not too long ago, the Blue Jackets used to find ways to win games.
It was one of their biggest strengths under former coach John Tortorella, helping them make the playoffs four straight seasons, pull off a stunning sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019 and qualify in 2020 despite an exodus of talent.
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They found ways to win, even while being outplayed.
This season's crop of Blue Jackets, now halfway into the season, is at the other end of the spectrum. Despite holding leads late in games, they’ve found ways to lose too many of them.
The Jackets (13-19-9) have lost leads in the third periods of 11 games already, including twice Dec. 27 in a gut-wrenching loss to the New Jersey Devils. They also dropped their most recent game, against the Minnesota Wild, with an inexplicable 4-3 overtime defeat that included another late collapse in front of a sellout crowd at Nationwide Arena.
It’s made judging this team’s progress a difficult task when looking beyond their record or place in the standings, where they’re last in the Metropolitan Division, 15th of 16 teams in the Eastern Conference and 28th overall among the NHL’s 32 teams.
“I think we’re much better than our record,” Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen told the Dispatch, “but it’s the record that matters and that’s how you get judged.”
This particular Blue Jackets front office may also be judged by the hiring of former coach Mike Babcock last summer, which exploded 78 days later due to allegations a week before training camp that he’d violated players’ privacy during summer meetings by scrolling through their phones.
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That led to Pascal Vincent’s promotion to head coach just days before camp and Mark Recchi joining the coaching staff as one of his assistants. Considering that amount of turmoil going into a new season, the Blue Jackets’ competitiveness on a game-to-game basis should be considered remarkable.
They’ve found ways to lose, though, which has undercut the narrative. The Jackets have also been racked with key injuries, including most of their veteran leaders out with long-term issues. Still, had they won even five of their OT/shootout losses plus two games lost late in regulation, the Jackets could have 44 points and be right in the thick of the chase for a wild card spot.
They also haven’t lost consecutive games in regulation since Nov. 22-24, going 9-8-5 in the past 22 games for a solid .523 points percentage. So, they’re close.
“We’re pretty banged up right now, but for the most part, we’ve been in every game basically,” Kekalainen said. “We haven’t been outplayed many times, even by the best teams in the league, which I think is progress. Everybody wants to see the progress in the standings, and so do we, but when you go through a nine-game losing streak, it’s a steep hill to climb.”
Technically, it was a nine-game winless streak when the Blue Jackets went just 0-7-2 over a 16-day span in November to freefall from playoff contention. They’d also gone 1-2-2 in a five-game span before it started, leading to a 1-9-4 record over nearly a month's time (Oct. 24 to Nov. 19).
During that stretch, they lost eight games by a one-goal margin, including four they led in the third period. They also lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 14 at Nationwide Arena by a 5-3 score that included Sidney Crosby’s empty-net goal.
They found ways to lose.
Columbus Blue Jackets focus on 'winning habits' during second half
It’s been a tough season to stomach for fans who’ve known mostly losing throughout the franchise’s history and for the GM who constructed the roster.
It was Kekalainen, after all, who said on television during the Jackets’ first game that he felt this team could contend for a playoff spot. Some feel that was never a realistic goal for this season, but it’s certainly a dream scenario now. Regardless, 41 games remain and the Jackets can still make progress toward becoming a playoff contender sooner than later.
"We’ve just got to keep climbing," Kekalainen said. "I’d like us to put together a stretch here where we can start seeing light at the end of the tunnel, and that’s what we’ve talked about. Every team in the league has a goal of making the playoffs and playing meaningful games until the end of the year. That’s what we’d like to do.”
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Finding ways to win is the key, and multiple jobs may be at stake.
“We’ve lost so many leads late, and so many one-goal games, and you’ve got to learn to win those games,” Kekalainen said. “The biggest thing for us is to keep working at it and learn the winning habits, and I think we’ve been trending in the right direction in that way.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets GM Kekalainen wants more wins in second half
