Another sellout crowd at Nationwide Arena went home mostly unhappy Saturday night.
More: 5 storylines for Columbus Blue Jackets' stretch run
Despite starting strong, the Blue Jackets couldn't get a goal from their early pressure, allowed three unanswered goals afterward and lost 4-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in front of 18,876 who set a season-high attendance mark in Columbus.
Johnny Gaudreau set up two goals for Boone Jenner late in the third to make things interesting, but the Lightning put the game away on Brandon Hagel 's empty-net goal with 47.9 seconds to play.
"We had lots of momentum there," Jenner said. "We got two with four minutes left and I liked our push, but obviously we couldn't find that third one."
Hagel had a goal and two assists to lead the Lightning (28-20-5), who also had multi-point games from Nicholas Paul (goal, assist), Anthony Cirelli (goal, assist) and Nikita Kucherov (two assists). Steven Stamkos also scored a goal for Tampa Bay , which was backed by Andrei Vasilevskiy 's strong 33-save performance.
Elvis Merzlikins also made 33 saves for the Blue Jackets (16-25-10), who lost in their first game coming out of a break that began following a 1-0 victory Jan. 30 in St. Louis .
Here are five takeaways:
Nearing the end of the second, Gaudreau was shoved to the ice with what could've been called a cross-check in the Lightning zone and then was hauled down seconds later, each happening within roughly 15 feet of an onlooking referee.
No calls were made, Blue Jackets fans roared their disapproval, play continued and Tampa Bay's Darren Raddysh eventually sparked a fight between he and Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson with a hit near the boards. Rather than matching fighting majors, Severson was given an extra penalty for cross-checking, which gave Tampa Bay its third power play.
All but 10 seconds carried into the third, which led to Stamkos scoring the Lightning's second power-play goal of the game. That wasn't exactly a surprising outcome given the Lightning's top-ranked power play and the Jackets struggling while shorthanded.
It was the call that should've been a surprise.
It was just the latest costly officiating decision to go against the Blue Jackets, who seem to have a history of that happening. Severson getting the extra minor after no calls on either of the obvious infractions to impede Gaudreau seemed fitting.
So, what can be done about it?
"Well, you ask questions," Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said. "Obviously, that's communicating with the referees and that's what we've done. We need to know that at ice level, those guys, I know they're trying their best and they're trying to make it right. Do we agree with them all the time? No, we don't. Do we agree on this one? No, we don't, but I also know they have to make calls right away and, yeah, that was a difference-maker."
That's a careful answer from a first-time NHL head coach who'd rather not dole out fine money to the NHL. A former Blue Jackets bench boss who's now in Philadelphia might've been a little hotter under the collar about it, but the problem is that neither reaction would do anything to change the outcome.
There's nothing Vincent nor his staff, nor the Blue Jackets as a franchise can do about controversial calls going against Columbus — other than voicing displeasure in real time and, perhaps, complaining to the league behind the scenes. Publicly, the NHL almost never makes its officials available to speak with reporters following games, and if there's accountability within the league's officiating wing, it's not transparent enough.
Officials, in this case referees Mitch Dunning and Peter MacDougall, just head off to their next game destinations without answering a single question, after playing a significant role in determining the outcome of the game they just officiated. A pessimist can say that postgame media confabs with NHL officials wouldn't offer anything valid about judgement calls anyway, but at least it would be something on the record.
Coaches and players face the music regularly after tough performances. Why shouldn't officials be held to the same standard?
In a sport that has increasingly upped its monetary relationship with sports gambling services, this seems like something the NHL might want to address sooner than later. If not, at least shed more light on what ramifications, if any, officials face internally after glaring mistakes or controversial calls that significantly impact games.
Gaudreau played arguably his best game of the season in the loss to the Lightning and was the biggest reason the Blue Jackets made it close late in the third.
He set up Jenner's 14thand 15thgoals with precision feeds to the front of the net for the Jackets' captain and had other dishes to teammates for great looks that Vasilevskiy stopped. Gaudreau's assists were his 26thand 27thof the season and his 33rdand 34thpoints to widen his team scoring lead, but his overall production is a shell of what it's been in previous years.
A sluggish start in the season's first month is the biggest reason for it, but Gaudreau's teammates also need to shoulder some blame. He can't pass it to them and then go score the goals for them too. This isn't a video game where Gaudreau holds a device that controls all players on his team.
At some point, the Jackets need to help their elite playmaker get his offensive numbers back on track by burying more of his feeds, which was one reason why Jenner's two goals felt more important than they turned out to be.
To his credit, Gaudreau isn't showing his frustration. In fact, he continues turning the focus inward.
"You obviously want to capitalize and help your team win games," Gaudreau said. "I had a couple (chances) tonight that probably could've found the back of the net, but you want to make sure you're getting those opportunities, getting those looks and getting those chances. And then, once you're getting them, you've got to bear down and find a way to put the puck in the net."
Gaudreau has taken a lot of flak for what outwardly appears to be a nonchalant approach to another losing season with the Blue Jackets, but Vincent said it's just the opposite.
The coach has noticed his top left winger's fingerprints all over the team's resurgent effort to turn things around in a difficult season, which Vincent sees as great news for the future.
"When I say the team is coming together, he's one of the guys," Vincent said. "He's not a big talker, but he's taking more space in the room now. His game (against the Lightning), he was dynamite. Johnny is an excellent hockey player, and when he plays like he did tonight, our team looks different."
How good was Gaudreau against the Lightning?
He finished with five shots, tied with Sean Kuraly and Zach Werenski for the team lead, and also had four attempts blocked. According to Natural Stat Trick , the Blue Jackets dominated 5-on-5 attempts with Gaudreau on the ice (28-18) and had additional advantages in shots (12-8), scoring chances (18-8) and high-danger chances (9-5).
The Jackets outscored the Lightning 1-0 during Gaudreau's 17:19 of 5-on-5, but that's the margin that must increase to correlate with more wins.
Werenski hasn't scored a goal against an NHL goalie in 458 days, stretching back to a goal he scored last season against the Philadelphia Flyers before his season ended with a torn shoulder labrum the same night.
After missing the final 69 games last year, Werenski's dry spell of non-empty net goals has stretched through his first 39 games this season. There were some great looks against Vasilevskiy on Saturday, but the Lightning's star goalie stopped each one ― including a dazzling glove save off a quick backhand from the slot with 6:13 left in the second period.
It's been that way all season.
"It's been almost 40 games or something like that," Werenski said. "I'm used to putting pucks in the net. It's something I've done my whole career, and right now it's not going in. I'll just keep doing the things I've been doing. I'm still getting the chances. I had a few tonight. It's the game of hockey. At some point, I hope they start falling for me, but I'm just trying to contribute any way that I can."
Werenski's assists, meanwhile, are on the rise. He's got 27 already, which is 10 shy of tying his career-high 37 set in 2021-22 (68 games).
"If he didn't have those chances, I'd be worried," Vincent said. "But I'm not. He pushed the pace. He pushed himself. Him and Johnny (Gaudreau), when they push that way, we look different as a team. (Werenski) was really good, so it's just a matter of finding a way."
Yegor Chinakhov is expected to miss the Blue Jackets' game Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators with an undisclosed upper-body injury that occurred against the Lightning.
After taking a high-stick in the face from Erik Cernak 5:22 into the second period, Chinakhov skated just one more shift before leaving the game without returning.
"We know that most likely he's not going to play the next game (Tuesday), and we'll go from there," Vincent said.
Should Chinakhov be sidelined for more than a game or two, it will be a big blow to the Jackets' most recent top forward line. Skating at right wing on a line with Gaudreau and Jenner, Chinakhov had begun to stand out as one of the Blue Jackets' most impressive young players.
More: Jarmo Kekalainen, John Davidson fire back at critics about state of Columbus Blue Jackets
His speed bursts, skating and powerful frame make Chinakhov a load to handle, and his powerful shot is rare even among NHL players. Look for Emil Bemstrom , a healthy scratch against the Lightning, to draw back into the lineup as Chinakhov's replacement.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets' push not enough against Tampa Bay Lightning
