{"id":419800,"date":"2026-01-21T13:14:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T13:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/419800\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T13:14:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T13:14:21","slug":"columbus-blue-jackets-takeaways-our-slow-start-really-hurt-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/419800\/","title":{"rendered":"Columbus Blue Jackets takeaways: ‘Our slow start really hurt us’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Add another troubling habit for the Blue Jackets<\/a> after a frustrating 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators <\/a>on Jan. 20 at Nationwide Arena.<\/p>\n

Along with struggling to finish games\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0leading and converting prime scoring chances into goals,\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0now\u00a0starting games poorly to put themselves behind the proverbial eight ball.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a troubling recent trend,\u00a0especially when the\u00a0Jackets\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0overcome\u00a0a\u00a0poor\u00a0start\u00a0with better play in the second and third\u00a0periods, as was the case against\u00a0Ottawa.<\/p>\n

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More: Ottawa Senators halt Columbus Blue Jackets’ winning streak<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIf\u00a0you look at the whole 60 minutes, it\u2019s probably an evenly played game,\u201d Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness<\/a> said. \u201cOur slow start really\u00a0hurt\u00a0us, so\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0been addressed already\u00a0…\u00a0and\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0continue to address that because I hate\u00a0slow starts. I hate it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bowness, who replaced Dean Evason as head coach Jan. 12, lost his first game as the Blue Jackets\u2019 bench boss.\u00a0They\u2019d\u00a0strung three straight wins together\u00a0after the switch to build\u00a0a four-game winning streak, but the Senators crumpled that up in front of the Jackets and torched it.<\/p>\n

Despite overtime losses in their\u00a0previous\u00a0two games while dropping six of eight, the Senators (23-19-7) played with more desperation off the\u00a0opening draw and imposed their will on the Jackets while taking a 2-1 lead in the opening 20 minutes. Things shifted a bit in the second and third, when the Jackets created more scoring chances, but their inability to convert any into goals in those two periods against journeyman goalie James Reimer\u00a0was\u00a0their\u00a0undoing.<\/p>\n

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It all stretched back to the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just sets the tone for the game when you\u2019re able to impose your will right off the hop,\u201d Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson said. \u201cYou get in their faces, set the tone of the game and you make them adjust to you.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0a big part of playing hockey is starting on time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Columbus<\/p>\n

Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Mathieu Olivier (24) backhands a pass around Ottawa Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven (43) during the first period of the NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Jan. 20, 2026.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s\u00a0exactly what the Senators did,\u00a0following a pattern set by\u00a0the Pittsburgh\u00a0Penguins,\u00a0Vancouver\u00a0Canucks\u00a0and Calgary Flames in the Blue Jackets\u2019\u00a0previous\u00a0three games. The difference\u00a0this time\u00a0is\u00a0the Jackets\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0overcome their early malaise.<\/p>\n

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\u201c\u2019Xs\u00a0and Os\u2019\u00a0is structure\u00a0and (strategy) and\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0one thing,\u201d Bowness said. \u201cWill is another\u00a0one.\u00a0Will is a skill. It is on its own, and\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0shown lots of will. We\u00a0haven\u2019t\u00a0in the first periods of the last two games, but\u00a0we can fix that and\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0fix\u00a0it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their next chance to look under the hood is during\u00a0the Jackets\u2019 second\u00a0practice\u00a0of the week\u00a0Jan. 21 at Nationwide Arena, where forward Mason\u00a0Marchment\u00a0(upper body) and center Isac\u00a0Lundestrom\u00a0(lower body) are expected to\u00a0be full\u00a0participants.<\/p>\n

Here are\u00a0two\u00a0more takeaways:<\/p>\n

\"Columbus<\/p>\n

Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) faces a shot from Ottawa Senators right wing Claude Giroux (28) during the first period of the NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Jan. 20, 2026.<\/p>\n

Elvis\u00a0Merzlikins\u00a0made his third straight start in net for the Blue Jackets but\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0make it past the first period. After allowing two goals on seven shots in the game\u2019s first 20 minutes,\u00a0Merzlikins\u00a0left due to illness and Jet Greaves made 12 saves on 13 shots in relief.<\/p>\n

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Merzlikins\u00a0and Greaves\u00a0participated\u00a0in the Jackets\u2019 optional morning skate at Nationwide Arena, and\u00a0Merzlikins\u00a0was healthy enough to engage in casual conversation with reporters at his locker stall\u00a0afterward.<\/p>\n

Bowness said\u00a0Merzlikins\u00a0asked to\u00a0keep the\u00a0start despite\u00a0informing\u00a0the Jackets\u2019\u00a0coaching\u00a0staff\u00a0that he\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0feeling great in the morning.<\/p>\n

\"Columbus<\/p>\n

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski (8) skates by right wing Kirill Marchenko (86) during the first period of the NHL hockey game against the Ottawa Senators at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Jan. 20, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe (knew) this morning, but he wanted to give it a go,\u201d Bowness said. \u201cHe felt a little bit better.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0been playing\u00a0really well, so when a guy comes to you and says, \u2018I want to\u00a0play,\u2019 you let him play. It\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0work out, so\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0keep him away from the team (Jan. 21) and\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0worry about (the\u00a0Dallas\u00a0Stars on Jan. 22),\u00a0but I give him credit for\u00a0trying\u00a0to play.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0a fighter.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The\u00a0Blue Jackets\u00a0issued an official\u00a0update on\u00a0Merzlikins\u2019\u00a0status\u00a0during the second period, saying\u00a0he was \u201cquestionable\u201d to return. That\u00a0sparked a question about what\u00a0would\u2019ve\u00a0happened had\u00a0Greaves\u00a0left with\u00a0injury\u00a0or illness?<\/p>\n

Would\u00a0Merzlikins\u00a0have\u00a0returned\u00a0to finish the\u00a0game,\u00a0or would the\u00a0Blue\u00a0Jackets\u00a0have gone to their\u00a0emergency backup\u00a0goalie,\u00a0Tyler Murphy, a\u00a0former\u00a0Miami University\u00a0club hockey goalie\u00a0from 2009-2012?<\/p>\n

Columbus Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness\u00a0wants aggressive hockey<\/p>\n

Watching talented players\u00a0make\u00a0tentative decisions is another area\u00a0that drives Bowness bonkers. Goals\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0score themselves,\u00a0especially in the NHL, so\u00a0players\u00a0who\u00a0pass up shots\u00a0from\u00a0dangerous spots\u00a0tend to draw his ire.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe start killed, and more importantly, the second period, we could\u2019ve taken the lead but didn\u2019t score,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had two guys wide open in the slot … trying to make a play. I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0understand that, right?\u00a0I\u00a0don\u2019t.\u00a0You\u2019re\u00a0in the slot looking to make a backdoor play\u00a0to\u00a0your partner? Get that out\u00a0of our game.\u00a0Shoot the (darn) thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger<\/a> can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com<\/a> and @BrianHedger.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets takeaways: ‘Our slow start really hurt us’<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Add another troubling habit for the Blue Jackets after a frustrating 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":419801,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5108],"tags":[3644,5180,26,897,230,5179,147,7819,6817,5,4529,5250,693,862,2912,4,25,100,12090,27],"class_list":["post-419800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-columbus-blue-jackets","tag-blue-jackets","tag-bluejackets","tag-calgary-flames","tag-columbus","tag-columbus-blue-jackets","tag-columbusbluejackets","tag-dallas-stars","tag-elvis-merzlikins","tag-erik-gudbranson","tag-hockey","tag-isac-lundestrom","tag-james","tag-jet-greaves","tag-mason-marchment","tag-nationwide-arena","tag-nhl","tag-ottawa-senators","tag-pittsburgh-penguins","tag-rick-bowness","tag-vancouver-canucks"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115933274041910417","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/419801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}