Blackhawks 5 / Blue Jackets 2 Home implosion
Before the puck dropped last night in their home opener, the Blue Jackets dimmed the lights in a sold-out Nationwide Arena and spent 20 minutes reminiscing over the highlights of their first decade in the NHL, which has included one winning season and no playoff victories.
When the lights were turned up, the Blue Jackets took the ice and provided a crowd of 18,305 little comfort that the next decade will be any different.
The Blue Jackets lost 5-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks, and it wasn't that close. The new system brought to town by new coach Scott Arniel shorted out, a combination of the Jackets' ineptitude and the Blackhawks' speed, energy and effort.
"That was a big fat egg by us," Arniel said. "Everything we tried to do backfired on us. ... All 20 players had a tough night tonight.
"I knew everything wasn't going to come in one fell swoop. I knew we were going to take steps back on some nights. But I was hoping it wouldn't be this game, or that ugly."
R.J. Umberger and Kristian Huselius scored for the Blue Jackets, and goaltender Steve Mason -- who was not the problem -- had 35 saves.
The Blackhawks were led by center Patrick Sharp, who had two goals and could have had five. He finished with 13 shots on goal, a record for a franchise that's celebrating 84 seasons.
A good team last night would have picked apart Chicago goaltender Marty Turco, who allowed plenty of juicy rebounds, especially early.
"It was us," Umberger said. "We were so sloppy. We couldn't execute simple passes. It wasn't anything they were doing.
"Bad decisions. Forcing pucks into the ice when it's not there. All of us, every single person, was guilty of it. The good news is we didn't get run out of our building because of our system or because they solved something. We just flat-out didn't execute."
The last glimmer of hope seemed to fade midway through the second period. The Blue Jackets had pulled to within 2-1 early in the second on Umberger's short-handed goal.
But with the Jackets on the power play, Antoine Vermette made a blind drop pass to nobody in particular as he carried the puck into the offensive zone.
Sharp and Jake Dowell headed the other direction, with only defenseman Anton Stralman to beat. Sharp did the honors, tucking the puck inside the far post at 9:46 to make it 3-1.
"That's my responsibility," Vermette said. "That's a bad play. I have to read that play better to make a pass like that. I just thought Stralman was closer to me than he was."
Two minutes later it was 4-1 on another Sharp goal, and when the Blue Jackets skated to the second intermission, they heard more than a few boos.
"That (short-handed) goal was a killer," Arniel said. "You could feel the momentum building, and it was a careless play. They smelled blood and went after it from there."
The Blackhawks, playing without forward Patrick Kane and defensemen Brian Campbell and Niklas Hjalmarsson, needed only 15 seconds into the third period to make it 5-1.
"It hurts because you want to do well in front of your home fans," Umberger said.
"You want to hear that crowd erupt early on and make it a fun game. We got behind 2-0, which is not what you want at home."
aportzline@dispatch.com
Game wrap-up
THREE STARS
* Patrick Sharp, C, Blackhawks: Among his 13 shots were two goals, one the short-handed back-breaker
* Brent Seabrook, D, Blackhawks: Played 24:21, was plus-2 and silky smooth
* Marian Hossa, RW, Blackhawks: One goal, one assist and 22 minutes on the ice
GAME SUMMARY
Chicago 2 2 1 -- 5 Columbus 0 1 1 -- 2
FIRST PERIOD: Scoring -- 1, Chicago, Stalberg 1 (Skille, Boynton), 9:37. 2, Chicago, Hossa 4 (Kopecky, Cullimore), 10:40. Penalties -- Tyutin, Clm (hooking), 3:39; Russell, Clm (slashing), 19:57.
SECOND: Scoring -- 3, Columbus, Umberger 2 (Dorsett), 1:11 (sh). 4, Chicago, Sharp 2 (Dowell), 9:46 (sh). 5, Chicago, Sharp 3 (Brouwer, Bickell), 11:48. Penalties -- Kopecky, Chi (closing hand on puck), 8:28; Skille, Chi (slashing), 14:55.
THIRD: Scoring -- 6, Chicago, Kopecky 1 (Hossa), :15. 7, Columbus, Huselius 3 (Umberger, Klesla), 13:39. Penalties -- Brouwer, Chi (tripping), 6:24; Kopecky, Chi (tripping), 9:48.
Shots on goal: Chicago 19-10-11--40. Columbus 11-9-12--32. Power plays: Chicago 0 of 2; Columbus 0 of 4. Goalies: Chicago, Turco 1-1-1 (32 shots-30 saves). Columbus, Mason 1-2-0 (40-35). A: 18,305. T: 2:19.
