Columbus has had three days to sit with a 7-3 loss to Florida, and Rick Bowness made clear Friday that the Blue Jackets should not be comfortable with what they have put on the ice through five games. The coach’s concern starts in the defensive end: Columbus is allowing 4.20 goals per game, tied for the third-highest rate in the NHL, and sits 30th in goals against.
Goals against have Bowness fuming
The Blue Jackets bring a 2-3-0 record into Saturday’s home date with the New York Rangers at Nationwide Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET, with coverage on CBJHN, CBJNHL and MSG.
Columbus has surrendered at least three goals in four of its five outings. After opening the season with a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 1, the club has gone 1-3-0, including a 5-3 defeat in St. Louis last Saturday and Tuesday’s lopsided loss to the Panthers.
- Record: 2-3-0
- Goals allowed per game: 4.20
- NHL rank in goals against: 30th
- Games with three or more goals allowed: four of five
- Next game: New York Rangers at Columbus, Saturday, 7 p.m. ET
Bowness said he had never been behind an NHL team ranked that low defensively. He put responsibility on the entire group, including himself, saying everyone around the club should be upset with its current position.
Coach calls for professional response
Following the Florida game, Bowness said Columbus had largely created its own problems in both that loss and the one in St. Louis. He challenged his players to let the performance sting and warned that a lack of embarrassment after that kind of defeat would be unacceptable.
The 71-year-old coach also stressed that he is not there to manage players’ emotions for them. His message was direct: NHL players must arrive prepared to play the right way.
On Friday, Bowness said the fix will require both game action and sharper practices. Columbus has played only five times, matching the Los Angeles Kings for the fewest games in the League, but he did not present the light early schedule as an excuse.
- Bowness said the club needs more games to settle into its structure.
- He also called for greater pace and purpose during practices.
- The coach said the team will improve, but insisted its current defensive standing must bother everyone involved.
A familiar standard from last season
This is not the first public challenge Bowness has delivered to his room. After Columbus was eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention last season, he said the club needed a culture change if he was to return behind the bench.
In April, Bowness said losing had not hurt the players enough and demanded a more competitive response, even in games with no playoff implications. Two days later, on April 16, he agreed to return as coach for this season.
Bowness took over the Blue Jackets on Jan. 12 last season after Dean Evason was replaced. Columbus was 19-19-7 at the time of the change, then went 21-11-15 under Bowness. The Blue Jackets finished fifth in the Metropolitan Division, six points back of the third-place Philadelphia Flyers.
Including his work as a head coach, interim coach and assistant, Bowness has appeared in 2,768 NHL games behind a bench, the most in League history. Five games into this season, that experience has left him with little patience for the defensive habits Columbus has shown so far.
