As the great Yogi Berra once said, "It's like deja vu all over again."
Their last three seasons are eerily similar in the way that the first 12 games have gone. They sit at 4-8-0 (8 points) right now. Last year at this point, they were 5-7-0 (10 points). In the lockout-shortened season, they went 3-7-2 (8 points) through the first twelve games.
Even more disconcerting is the rollercoaster ride that is their play from game to game. Last Friday saw Toronto come into Nationwide Arena and dictate the way the game was played, ultimately resulting in a 4-1 Blue Jackets loss. The next night in New Jersey, although they lost 3-2, they played a much better game.
Tuesday night in Columbus, they lost 4-2 and the game wasn't even that close.
"We were a reactionary team," said Blue Jackets head coach Todd Richards. "That's the way we played the whole game. We reacted to what was going on in the game, to what they were doing, the score, referees... we were reacting to all that instead of playing a proactive game and going after them."
Richards mentions the officiating and to be fair, there were missed calls for both teams. But, that's not why they lost the game.
"Emotions aside, the anger and all that, it's just extremely disappointing for a group that prides itself on work and battle and competing. We had very little of that."
The team has lost sight of what their identity is. The pride that Richards speaks of was like a badge of honor worn by the club last season as they progressed to just their second appearance in the playoffs.
There was enough blame to go around in the loss to Carolina. Whether citing defensive breakdowns, poor decision making or less than stellar goaltending, playing the "blame game" gets you nothing. Identifying the problems and then working to solve those issues are what will get this team back on the correct path.
"I think right now it's such a frustrating situation for everybody involved," said goaltender Curtis McElhinney. "Obviously, (losing) six games is difficult to swallow. We would have liked a stronger performance, but it's just a matter of everybody being on the same page.
"Whether it comes from a timely save or a timely goal, things like that. It's just a matter of doing that more often, being stronger in front of our net and me making some saves. It's tough right now."
While the team goes through this very rough patch of play, more than their record has been wounded. Knowing that the team, as well as the fans have been let down, stings.
"It's a difficult thing to accept six games (losing streak) as a professional athlete," said McElhinney. "It's not acceptable to our fans and the management or the people in this (dressing) room."
Much hay has been made over the injury plague that has afflicted the Blue Jackets. While they saw the return of Matt Calvert and the season debut of Boone Jenner on Tuesday, veteran defenseman Fedor Tyutin knows the importance of hard work.
"It's good to get some of your starters back in the lineup, for sure," he said. "But at the same time, we all realize that it's more important that we work hard. We need to be more dependable with our work ethic, work smarter, stick to the system... that's way more important."
Losing an identity that has been forged through sweat, blood and broken bones is never a good thing. Twelve games into this young season, they have come to a fork in the road. One path is the easy way and they've been down that road before. It leads to hitting the links mere days after the conclusion of regular season play.
The other path is fraught with hard work, more sweat, more blood and who knows what other hidden dangers waiting to trip them up. But, that path also leads them to a chance of playing in the postseason. And that's all that it is - a chance.
Committing to the cause 100 percent is what will earn this team success. Nothing less will, or should be, acceptable.
"It's tough when you aren't skating and aren't battling," Todd Richards said. "You aren't going to have much success and that's exactly what happened. We spent a lot of time in the box with penalties. And if you're uncommitted to certain things... that's what you're going to get, right there."
The moment to act is now. Climb aboard the steed and gallop off into the season, because time waits for no man.
