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Mistakes costly for Columbus Blue Jackets in loss to Vancouver Canucks: Takeaways
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- Mistakes costly for Columbus Blue Jackets in loss to Vancouver Canucks: Takeaways
Mistakes and missed opportunities have put the Blue Jackets into a three-game slide, including a 4-3 loss Nov. 8 against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena.
Eight days earlier, the Blue Jackets (7-7-0) outlasted the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in Columbus to win their fourth straight game before flying to New York the same night for a quick turnaround against the Islanders on Nov. 2 at UBS Arena.
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More: Columbus Blue Jackets drop third straight game on late stumble against Vancouver Canucks
A loss on two New York goals in the game's final 67 seconds started a slide, which includes a 5-1 loss Nov. 5 in Calgary . All three opponents had middling records or worse, but the Jackets found ways to lose without gaining a point.
Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson shoots around Canucks forward Conor Garland on Nov. 8.
Next is a road back-to-back Nov. 11 against the Edmonton Oilers and Nov. 12 against the Seattle Kraken . The Oilers, who have finished as Stanley Cup runner-up the past two seasons, are off to a slow start and lost 9-1 to the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 8 for their worst margin of defeat on home ice.
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They're led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl , arguably the two best players in the world, so the Blue Jackets' plight only gets tougher.
Here are the Blue Jackets' takeaways from Vancouver:
Columbus Blue Jackets sloppy on Vancouver Canucks ' winning goal
Prior to Brock Boeser 's winner for the Canucks, all three Blue Jackets forwards on the top line were caught drifting below the faceoff dots in the offensive zone when Lukas Reichel zipped a quick rim up the boards on the left wing to Kiefer Sherwood .
Dmitri Voronkov had his stick ripped out of his hands after getting tangled with defenseman Marcus Pettersson along the right-wing boards, but nothing was called. Reichel's rim pass to Kiefer Sherwood slid right past him, as Kirill Marchenko dipped just below the dot in the right circle and Adam Fantilli skated behind the Canucks' net.
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Boeser did the rest, slipping behind Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov and controlling Sherwood's diagonal saucer pass by knocking it out of mid-air to his feet on the fly. His shot skipped off Elvis Merzlikins ' glove and into the net with the Jackets' goalie set up outside of his crease.
The whole play was poorly executed, and the Canucks took full advantage to score the winning goal. That stings even worse for the Blue Jackets just two games after losing at the Islanders on two late goals.
Columbus Blue Jackets jumble forward lines against Vancouver Canucks
After getting scorched Nov. 5 by the Flames, owners of the NHL's worst record, Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason made changes to three of his four lines.
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Charlie Coyle 's line with Cole Sillinger and Mathieu Olivier was the only one that wasn't reconfigured during practice Nov. 7 in Vancouver, and even they broke up after Olivier was ejected 7:00 into the second on a major boarding penalty.
The biggest changes were Fantilli moving up to center Marchenko and Voronkov on the top line, Sean Monahan sliding to the second line to center Miles Wood and Kent Johnson , who moved back up to that group after skating on the fourth line in Calgary, and captain Boone Jenner moving from the second line to the fourth.
Rookie Luca Del Bel Belluz centered Jenner's line in his season debut and Yegor Chinakhov skated with them at right wing. The moves worked great for the reworked first line, which produced all three of the Jackets' goals, but Fantilli, Marchenko and Voronkov were also on the ice for Boeser's winning goal.
Mathieu Olivier's major penalty put Columbus Blue Jackets in a tough spot
Mathieu Olivier isn't a dirty player, and the hit that got him ejected 7:00 into the second period wasn't dirty either. It was, however, illegal and might draw a call from the NHL's department of player safety on Nov. 10.
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This is Olivier's second major penalty on a late hit in 14 games, following an elbowing major while finishing a check against Washington Capitals defenseman Declan Chisholm on Oct. 24 at Nationwide Arena.
The Capitals scored two power-play goals to blow open a 5-1 victory in the third period, but the Canucks weren't able to score with a five-minute power play following Olivier's hit on defenseman Elias Pettersson .
Killing all five minutes off without allowing a goal gave the Blue Jackets a boost, but that doesn't get Olivier off the hook. It was a poor decision with the puck nowhere near Pettersson, whose head slammed off the glass, and a bad penalty to take the next shift after Marchenko's first of two goals tied it 1-1.
Olivier's early departure with a game misconduct forced the Blue Jackets to play the final 43 minutes with only 11 forwards and without their leader in hits and fights.
Canucks forward Kiefer Sherwood (44) checks Blue Jackets defenseman Denton Mateychuk on Nov. 8.
Vancouver Canucks forward Kiefer Sherwood haunts Columbus Blue Jackets again
Sherwood continued a career trend of making life miserable for the Blue Jackets, whom he grew up cheering for along with younger brother, Kole, while they grew up in New Albany. His pass to Boeser was Sherwood's first assist and 10thpoint of the season to go with a team-leading nine goals.
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Both Sherwood brothers played for the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets Tier I developmental program as teens, and each has a spot among a group of seven OBJ alumni who've played NHL games.
He's one of four OBJ alums playing in the NHL, along with former Blue Jackets center Sean Kuraly ( Boston Bruins ), former Blue Jackets forward Jack Roslovic ( Edmonton Oilers ) and Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy .
This was the 10thtime the elder Sherwood has faced the Blue Jackets, and he increased his stat line to seven points on two goals and five assists. Sherwood, a pending unrestricted free agent, ranks second in the NHL with 70 hits.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Mistakes cost Columbus Blue Jackets vs Vancouver Canucks: Takeaways
