It’s been a troublesome trait of this season’s Columbus Blue Jackets. No matter the opponent, nor where it ranks among the NHL’s hierarchy, the Blue Jackets tend to let them establish the pace and style of play and then try to match it.

These Blue Jackets don’t dictate. On some nights, their talent level is good enough for them to win or claim a loser’s point, which is certainly progress from recent seasons.

But nobody is going to out-Carolina Hurricane the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Blue Jackets weren’t smart enough, decisive enough or aggressive enough to hang with one of the Eastern Conference’s elite clubs, giving up three third-period goals and losing 4-1 before a crowd of 18,299 in Lenovo Center.

“We talked to the group about staying patient and continuing to play the right way, because we were playing really well,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason told reporters in Raleigh, N.C. “Then we make a mistake, turn it over, and it ends up in our net.

“And then we’re chasing it.”

Tuesday’s game was a sad capper to a winless (0-2-1) trip through Florida, Washington and Carolina — all Eastern clubs — just continuing to make the Blue Jackets’ lives harder should they get it together and make a playoff push for a second straight season.

The Blue Jackets have lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time since Nov. 8, and haven’t won consecutive games in regulation since Nov. 1.

And now an offensive chill has taken hold of the group. The Blue Jackets haven’t scored an even-strength goal in 122 minutes, 29 seconds.

The only Columbus goal scored Tuesday was on the power play by Dmitri Voronkov, who redirected a centering pass by Sean Monahan at 12:39 of the first period for a 1-0 lead.

But you could tell throughout the night it was going to be difficult for the Blue Jackets to get too many pucks past Carolina’s red-hot rookie goaltender, Brandon Bussi.

The Blue Jackets didn’t get their first shot on goal until 9:23 of the first period. There was a stretch of 13:15 from the middle stages of the second period to the early third period that Bussi didn’t have to make a single save. The Jackets had shot attempts in those spans, but none on goal.

In one scene, Blue Jackets fourth-line forward Isac Lundeström waited so long on a three-on-two rush that the play fizzled and went back the other way as a three-on-one for the Hurricanes.

“We weren’t shooting,” Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli said. “I thought we overpassed. Sometimes the first play is the right play. You have to shoot it.

“I’m guilty of it tonight. It cost us tonight, it really did. We have to recognize when we’re in those golden areas, and we have to shoot the puck. Can’t score if you don’t shoot.”

Hallsy ➡️ Robby pic.twitter.com/eCDWNolD3v

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) December 10, 2025

The Hurricanes tied it at 1 at 9:42 of the second period after a long shift in the Blue Jackets’ end. Seth Jarvis, becoming a modern-day Jackets killer, scored on a one-timer from the slot off a pass from Andrei Svechnikov.

The Blue Jackets were mostly hanging on for the rest of the second, but they cracked only 7:53 into the third.

Defenseman Dante Fabbro, one of general manager Don Waddell’s great finds off the waiver wire last season, has been dropped from the top pair to the third pair for most of the season. He’s not going to move up with more nights like Tuesday.

Fabbro carried the puck into the neutral zone and was trying to chip it off the wall and get it ahead to Yegor Chinakhov. But the puck never made it to Chinakhov.

Carolina’s Joel Nystrom intercepted and started a rush the other way, with Taylor Hall joining a two-on-one with former Blue Jackets winger Eric Robinson, who fired it over Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves’ right pad.

It was 2-1 Hurricanes, and the Blue Jackets were cooked. Carolina played tack-on the rest of the game, including an empty net goal with 1:15 to play by Jordan Martinook.

“We tried to be too cute on a few occasions,” Evason said. “We tried to get right in front of the net as opposed to looking for second and third opportunities.”

From high to low and in the goal! 💥

CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/LnJvitIpSK

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 10, 2025

It marked another wasted outing by Greaves, who stopped 27 of 30 shots.

“We’ve got to capitalize,” Fantilli said. “One goal’s not good enough. Jet’s playing phenomenal back there, and we’re just not capitalizing.”

The three third-period goals allowed gave the Blue Jackets the worst third-period goal differential in the NHL at minus-17 (45-28).

Since Nov. 2, when the Blue Jackets threw away a late lead in a regulation loss to the New York Islanders, they’ve been outscored 30-13 in the third period, 35-14 including overtime goals.