COLUMBUS, Ohio — A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Columbus Blue Jackets:

Item No. 1: Exasperated

Take the captain’s “C’ from Boone Jenner. Let all of the free agents walk this summer, including center Charlie Coyle. Change goaltenders after the second period. Scratch everybody.

These were among the suggestions via social media and on this site’s comments sections after the Blue Jackets’ latest monumental collapse, a 4-3 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Sunday — a game they led 3-0 after two periods.

This is not to mock or belittle some of the best and most patient fans in all of sports. The Blue Jackets have given them very little to celebrate in 25 years, and now they’re teasing them with a playoff chase only to get kicked in the teeth at an important time of the season.

They’re not wrong, either.

The two tripping penalties Jenner took in the third period on Sunday, including the one that aided the Bruins’ game-tying goal with only 11 seconds remaining, could be filed under “conduct unbefitting a captain.”

Coyle, one of the Blue Jackets’ most reliable, steady players, had the puck on his stick — with an apparent path to clear the zone — just a half second before it was poked away from him and landed on the stick of Pavel Zacha for the game-tying goal.

The idea of a goaltender “closer” and the fantasy of “scratch everybody” is a bit far-fetched, but we understand the frustration.

For ardent fans, it’s so demoralizing to see the Blue Jackets play like world-beaters in the first period — the pace, the power, the pugilism was remarkable on Sunday — only to panic and collapse when the game was on the line.

Why does this keep happening?

The Blue Jackets will say it’s because they “get away from” what they were doing earlier in the game, when they had things in full control. So let us rephrase the question: Why do they keep getting away from their game?

You can’t blame Dean Evason for this one, which means you probably shouldn’t blame Rick Bowness for it, either. This isn’t coaching.

Maybe, just maybe, the Blue Jackets are so mentally fragile as a group that the pressure of success is simply too much for them, collectively, to handle.

Losing is hard and depressing, but winning puts you on a stage, forces you to prove you belong. You’re expected to stand and deliver, and without the mental fortitude, that’s a torturous responsibility. It just … keeps … happening.

The Blue Jackets had an off day on Monday to either wallow in their misery or put themselves back together again to face the rest of the season. As dismissive as it sounds, the Blue Jackets can’t spend any extra time on Sunday’s loss or the reasons behind it.

They’ve lost four out of five games (1-3-1), their first real pothole since Bowness took over on Jan. 12. But they were still in a playoff spot after Sunday’s unraveling, and they’ll still be in a playoff spot on Tuesday.

That’s all good news.

It didn’t feel as if Evason had a plan — at least not one that was articulated publicly — for how the Blue Jackets could avoid these collapses, which have likely cost them at least 10 points in the standings.

But among Bowness’ best traits are his experience and confidence. He knows what’s wrong, he’ll tell you, and he knows how to fix it.

There will be tough conversations, he said, before the Blue Jackets host Carolina on Tuesday, but all the Blue Jackets can do now is look ahead and look up, and that’s what Bowness said he plans to do.

It started after the game.

Bowness pointed out that the Blue Jackets did earn a point and lost a shootout, they didn’t lose in regulation. It’s easy to dismiss that one point — instead of two — but one point makes a huge difference in the standings right now.

Of course the second and third periods against Boston will be addressed — Bowness hates when they play in retreat — but they’ll also look at what went right in the first period, how they completely dominated the Bruins and took a 3-0 lead.

And Bowness will show clips from the Blue Jackets’ 5-1 win over the Hurricanes on March 17, which he considers the Jackets’ most complete game since he stepped behind the Columbus bench.

“Oh, they’re pros,” Bowness said. “We’ll move on. We’ll get them ready for Tuesday. I know we had a great game against Carolina last time. We’ll address what needs to be addressed, but it’s all going to be positive going into Tuesday.

“We’re not going to look back on this and dwell on it too much. We lost a 3-0 lead. Why? It’s my job to explain to them why. And it’s their job to take it as a lesson and learn from it and grow from it. That’s what we’ll do, but it’s going to be very positive going into Tuesday night.”

Item No. 2: Mar-check-o

Kirill Marchenko appreciated the question.

Before Saturday’s game against the San Jose Sharks, Marchenko was asked if he could tell opponents were coming at him physically and finishing checks more than usual since the Blue Jackets entered the playoff race.

“You saw that, too?” he said. “Thank you, guys. I think I am crazy, just … why is everybody trying to hit me every time, every second? But you could see that, too? That’s nice.

“It’s a good compliment to me, that’s all I can say. They try to play hard against me, try to hit me every time. I have to handle that, and it gives me confidence, because (it means) they’re scared of me.”

It’s also been effective.

Marchenko, who has led the Blue Jackets in goals for three seasons running, is mired in an eight-game drought, tied for his longest of the season. He hasn’t scored since March 14, when he scored in regulation and scored the shootout winner in a 2-1 win in Philadelphia.

The Blue Jackets came out of nowhere last season and barely missed the playoffs. Their surge into the mix this season started in mid-January, and its attracted even national attention, especially when they won four straight to move into a playoff spot.

It started on March 22 with a 1-0 loss to the New York Islanders. In that game, Marchenko was rag-dolled twice by Islanders forward Casey Cizikas. The Islanders finished checks well after the play — especially on Marchenko and defenseman Zach Werenski — that entire game.

“Are (Marchenko and Werenski) getting attention? Yeah,” Bowness said. “If I were coaching against them, they’d get the same.”

Marchenko has absorbed 12 hits during his eight-game drought, but that only measures the times he was hit and separated from the puck. It doesn’t count the finished checks and hard hits, which have been noticeable.

This is just the playoff stretch drive. The actual playoffs are yet another level of intensity and physicality.

“I don’t have (as much) room on the ice, but I still have moments in the game,” Marchenko said. “I need to shoot more when I have a chance. I have to look for my shot a bit more.

“I am ready for the pressure, ready for the hits from everybody. I know what’s going on over these last (eight) games. Every game is tough. It’s heavy. Everybody is hitting each other. I’ve (been hit) like 10 times in four games. Come on. (Smiling) I’ve (been hit) like 10 times all season.

“I just think it’s really fun.”

Item No. 3: Snacks

• On Saturday, the Blue Jackets allowed a third-period power play goal to San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini just three seconds into the penalty kill. On Sunday, they allowed a third-period power play goal to Boston’s Zacha only six seconds after the penalty kill began. Incredibly, it’s the fifth time this season, according to the NHL stats department, that the Blue Jackets have allowed a goal within 10 seconds after the puck drops following the infraction. In case you were wondering, the Blue Jackets once allowed a power-play goal only two seconds into a penalty kill. It happened on Feb. 12, 2012, during a 5-3 loss to Anaheim in Nationwide. The Blue Jackets were called for too many men on the ice at 12:36 of the second period. Ducks forward Corey Perry scored just two seconds into the power play, one of three power-play goals scored that day by Anaheim.

• Three games, three injuries. The Blue Jackets lost defenseman Damon Severson (upper body) last Thursday against Montreal. They lost winger Dmitri Voronkov (hand) on Saturday. Then, on Sunday, right winger Mathieu Olivier played only one shift after his first-period fight with Boston’s Mark Kastelic. The club has said Severson and Voronkov are likely “week to week” injuries. Bowness said Olivier would be evaluated on Monday. “He’s one of our most aggressive forwards,” Bowness said. “He’s hard to play against, and when we take him out of the lineup, that’s a big hole.”

• Severson was quietly having a really good season, and Bowness’ ability to play him on the top pairing with Zach Werenski helped him get the left-right combos he wants on all three pairs. Severson was a healthy scratch at this time last season after a string of turnovers, busted coverages and bad reads. But he has cleaned all of that up this season, simplifying his game to fit the Blue Jackets’ system. He’s become the player the Blue Jackets expected when they acquired him from New Jersey in 2023. In 71 games, he has 8-24-32 and a plus-18 rating, the highest of his career.

• Here’s Bowness on Severson: “Just talking to the coaches who were here last year, they say it’s the best he’s played the last couple of years. Give him credit. (The injury is) terrible timing for us, and it’s terrible timing for him. Since I’ve been here, I’ve loved working with him. He’s a great teammate, he’s coachable and he’s a very, very good player. When you guys (the media) don’t notice him out there, we notice what an outstanding game he’s had. He makes the right decisions with the puck, on his reads, all those things you look for in a defenseman. It’s a big hole.”

• When the Blue Jackets lured Bowness off his fishing boat and brought him back to active duty, they agreed that he would coach the rest of this season, including a possible playoff run. As for the future, Bowness and GM Don Waddell plan to gather after the season to see if Bowness wants to continue as coach. They may have started an NHL trend. On Sunday, Vegas fired coach Bruce Cassidy and replaced him with former Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella under the same agreement. Tortorella will coach the Golden Knights as long as they’re alive this season, then discuss future plans in the offseason.

• Sean Kuraly returned to Columbus with Boston on Sunday, his first trip to Nationwide since he signed back with the Bruins after four seasons with the Blue Jackets. The Dublin, Ohio, native still lives here in the offseason. The Blue Jackets welcome him back with a first-period tribute video, and Kuraly got a standing ovation from most in the crowd. He played 292 games with the Blue Jackets, totaling 40-45-85.

The hometown hero’s in the house!

Welcome back, Kurls ❤️ pic.twitter.com/6li9mRlUvF

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 29, 2026

• The Blue Jackets lead the NHL, and have already set a franchise record, with 55 goals by defensemen this season. Buffalo (51), Washington (48), Tampa Bay (46), Edmonton (45) and Colorado (45) are next in line. Yes, of course, Werenski is a big part of that, but Denton Mateychuk (12), Ivan Provorov (eight), Severson (eight), Dante Fabbro (five) and Erik Gudbranson (one) have also chipped in. The previous high mark for the Blue Jackets is 51 goals from their blue line, which they set both last season and in 2017-18.

• Through Sunday’s games, Blue Jackets’ defensemen were responsible for 23.8 percent of the club’s goals and 30 percent of their points. The goals percentage was tops in the NHL, while the points is second. Washington has scored 30.6 percent of its points from the back end.

• Mateychuk, with 12 goals, is tied for 12th among NHL defensemen in scoring this season, right there with Roman Josi, Josh Morrissey, Justin Faulk and others. He doesn’t turn 22 until mid-July. The only other Blue Jackets defenseman to have 12 or more goals before the age of 22 is Werenski, who had 16 as a 20-year-old in 2017-18. Mateychuk has 12-17-29 and a plus-13 rating this season in 67 games. Imagine if he drew power-play time.

• Blue Jackets Monday Gathering trivia: Jenner on Sunday became the ninth Blue Jackets draft pick to play 800 or more games in the NHL. How many of the other eight can you name? (To be clear, that’s 800 games in their NHL careers, not just with Columbus.)

• Upper Arlington’s Hayes Hundley, a veteran of the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets program, signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday and has joined the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Hundley, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound, right-shot defenseman, totaled 6-6-12 in 38 games as a freshman at St. Thomas (Minn.), where he was coached by former Miami University coach Rico Blasi. Hundley is the 11th player to come through the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets program and sign an NHL contract.

• Blue Jackets top prospects Jackson Smith (Penn State) and Cayden Lindstrom (Michigan State) were bounced from the NCAA Tournament this past weekend, ending their seasons. But the Blue Jackets will be represented at the NCAA Frozen Four (April 9-11 in Las Vegas) by defenseman Andrew Strathmann, who plays for North Dakota. Strathmann, a fourth-round pick (No. 98) in 2023, had 1-5-6 at 48 penalty minutes in 37 games this season for the Fighting Hawks.

• The Blue Jackets added two of their former draft picks to the AHL Cleveland roster last week. Defenseman Charlie Elick, a second-round pick (No. 36) in 2024, had his season end with Tri-City of the Western Hockey League, while center Owen Griffin, a fifth-round pick (No. 160) in 2025, signed an amateur tryout agreement to join the Monsters. Griffin could return to junior next season, but Elick is turning pro. Neither has made their AHL debuts yet, but it could be time for a shake-up by the lake. The Monsters have lost six of their last seven games.

• Trivia answer: The eight Blue Jackets’ draft picks other than Jenner to play 800 NHL games are: Rick Nash (1,060), Jakub Voracek (1,058), Derick Brassard (1,013), Kris Russell (912), Ryan Johansen (905), David Savard (870), Alexander Wennberg (859) and Cam Atkinson (809).