DETROIT — At what point does a tendency become a trend? And, at what point will coach Dean Evason acknowledge the unfortunate tendency that is quickly becoming a trend with the Columbus Blue Jackets?
The Blue Jackets seemed to be in full control when Zach Werenski scored on a textbook give-and-go with his defense partner Ivan Provorov, giving Columbus a 3-1 lead over the Detroit Red Wings at 8:38 of the third period.
But if you’ve watched these Blue Jackets early this season, you know the age-old hockey adage about a “two-goal lead being the worst lead in hockey” is pertinent for the Jackets so far this season.
The Red Wings scored two goals only three minutes apart in the last half of the third period to tie it, then won it 4-3 at 1:50 of overtime on Alex DeBrincat’s goal that squeezed inside the near post on Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves.
A matinee crowd of 19,515 in Little Caesars Arena was delighted. The visitors dressing room was thrust back into the awkward spot of having to acknowledge their recent rash of blown leads, but not wanting to make it a bigger deal — perhaps a mental hurdle — by talking about it too much.
Evason is firmly in the latter camp.
“I know you guys (the media) are focused on it a little bit,” Evason said. “I’m not focused on it. I’m focused, our staff is more focused, on just playing the right way, consistently, throughout the whole game. We’re not going to concentrate on one period (the third period). We’re looking for consistency in all periods.”
Evason pointed to the Blue Jackets’ record after two periods: 7-0-2, including Saturday’s loss. Though that looks, say, decent on paper, it’s one of the more misleading stats in the NHL, much like blown leads after the eighth inning in baseball.
Case in point: the worst team in the Eastern Conference last season was the Philadelphia Flyers, who were 20-3-6 (.690 points percentage) when leading after two.
“It’s a thing because you guys (the media) bring it up,” Evason said. “It’s not a thing within our room, but because you guys keep bringing it up …
“We don’t bring it into the group. What we do bring into the group is that we do play the same way regardless of the score. If we’re up one or two or down one or two, you don’t change, you just play.”
Z MAKES IT 3️⃣
CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/DTvwrwsabm
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) November 22, 2025
It is true, as Evason and Werenski noted, the Blue Jackets did not play the third period Saturday with a sense of panic. They did not look hesitant. They did not get scrambled. They did not ice the puck rather than skate it out of the zone and try to possess it. They played.
But they didn’t get the job done. It’s been a theme this month. On Nov. 2, the Blue Jackets led 2-1 nearing the final minute of play against the New York Islanders in Elmont, N.Y. They lost the lead with 1:07 remaining and lost the game 3-2 with 38 seconds on the clock.
That game started the spiral. In the past 11 games, starting with that loss to the Islanders, the Blue Jackets have been outscored 17-6 in the third period. Before that, the Jackets had matched opponents (15-15) in the third.
“Do we talk about it?” Blue Jackets winger Miles Wood said, reiterating a reporter’s question. “Yeah, of course we talk about it. You know, it’s been a few games now, and we don’t want it to snowball into something larger than what it already is.
“Certainly, we talk about it as a team, and we’ve just got to take small steps and try to improve that. We have the guys in the room to do it. We work as a team for 2 1/2 periods, but we just kind of came apart late in the third.”
THE CAT CALLS GAME. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/NTsGFpy7Ob
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 22, 2025
The Blue Jackets have not cost themselves standings points with their third-period collapses, but they’ve handed points to other Eastern clubs — the Islanders, the Montreal Canadiens, the Red Wings, etc. — against whom they might need to outplay next spring in a battle for playoff positions.
It would be an easier problem to fix, perhaps, if there were one common thread through all of the late losses. But there isn’t.
Wood, Werenski and Adam Fantilli each scored for the Blue Jackets, and Greaves finished with 29 saves. It was 3-1 Columbus at 8:38 of the third period when Werenski darted to the net and had a step on his Red Wings defender when Provorov found him open in the slot.
The Wings pulled to 3-2 on a Ben Chiarot goal at 10:23 and tied it at 13:25 when Moritz Seider scored through traffic with a wrist shot from the point.
Between those two goals, Blue Jackets center Sean Monahan had a short-handed breakaway attempt that would have put Columbus ahead 4-2 and possibly (maybe?) ended it. But Monahan’s shot was denied with ease by Detroit goalie Cam Talbot.
In overtime, Detroit’s DeBrincat fired from the right circle with Greaves pinned tight against the near post, or so he thought. Somehow, the puck managed to sneak into the net, to the surprise of Greaves.
“It’s a few tough bounces,” Monahan said. “But at the end of the day, you’ve got to find ways to win in this league.”