There isn't much laughter and jocularity ringing through the hallways of Nationwide Arena these days. A losing streak will have that effect on a team. Good-natured joking around has been replaced with a potentially grim reality.
You can't play your way into the playoffs in the first 14 games of the season, but you can sure play your way out of them. Columbus is on the latter path with a record of 4-9-1 and losers of eight straight.
When does disappointment turn to anger? Losing one game, or even two in a row, is disappointing. But when you're losing streak has reached eight games, the anger becomes palpable. Tempers get shorter and there is a tenseness that surrounds the team. Have they reached the point where they are saying enough is enough?
"Absolutely," said forward Nick Foligno. "It should have gotten there a long time ago, but sometimes with everything going on, it takes a little bit longer. I think it's an understanding by everyone that now is the time."
Foligno is 7-8-15 in 13 games. He's stepped up without being asked to do so, even going so far as to suggest to the coach that he could center a line in the wake of so many injuries to the team's centers. Todd Richards took him up on that offer. And he's never shied away from laying his cards on the table and frankly speaking his mind.
"We've let this thing go too long and it's our fault. Now, it's a matter of working our way out of it. It's not going to be easy and no one's going to just give us a game. It's going to come down to us wanting it more than everyone else and we have to have that attitude every game we play."
The Blue Jackets are in the throes of a losing streak that prompted a players-only meeting at the conclusion of their most recent loss, a 7-4 shellacking by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. Messages were sent about the team teetering on a precipice and attitudes that had to change. Was the message received?
"I hope so," said defenseman David Savard. "Sunday, I was sitting at home and thinking all day about that meeting. And the guys should be thinking about it. We have to find a solution to get through this, as a team. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and make sure we do our job. If the message wasn't received, it's a problem. By now, everybody should be hungry to win."
Foligno expandsed on Savard's comments: "We'll find out Tuesday night. I think from the way we worked in practice on Monday and the overall mood in here, it's become quite serious. There's no joking around. Our season is on the line. Everything we worked for in the summer is on the line because we've not played the right way and it has cost us.
"It's the understanding in here that it's still early in the season and we have a chance to dig ourselves out of it, if we play the right way. I think the message has definitely been received. You can talk and talk and talk. But unless you go out there prove it, it's not going to mean much. That's everyone's focus right now."
The beginning of Monday's practice lacked pace, which prompted head coach Todd Richards to halt just eight minutes after it had started. The language heard was salty, but served its purpose in driving the players to pick up the pace and intensity. This has to affect players that pride themselves on their work ethic.
"It absolutely does," Foligno said. "I think it pisses us off more knowing that the coach has to stop the drill instead of our leadership group stepping up and saying something. Sometimes when you're all going through it together, it's hard to call guys out."
Savard, 2-3-5 in 14 games and averaging 22:40 time-on-ice, was even more direct in what stopping practice meant to him.
"I think you should be old enough to get ready for a practice. And as he (Richards) said before, it's your job. It's you job to get better every day; that's why you get ice time. It's not a punishment. It's about the team getting better."
"Obviously, if we're going out and being sloppy, there's no point in even going out there. If you're not going to practice hard and go the gym and not work hard, there's no point of showing up.
"I think right now it's a matter of having a focus and understanding," Foligno added. "And I think Richards is trying to hammer that home, as well as the whole coaching staff. We're a young team, yes. But you can prepare yourself for practices and games. We're not doing that well enough and we need to make sure we find a way to do that. That was his message."
It would be a different story if they had played well in those losses. That is not the case. There hasn't been consistent effort shown throughout the games to warrant winning them. Along the way, they lost playing to their identity. In short, they are not playing "Blue Jackets hockey."
"Everyone should be in the mindset of giving everything they have," Savard said, "that there's no tomorrow. Here we are, it's almost mid-November, and our season is on the line. We've got to put some wins together to get back in the race.
"We're way past using the injuries as an excuse. Everyone should be battling. Even the younger guys, if you've got 15 games under your belt you should know what to do by now. If you don't, then you should go see the older guys and make sure that everybody's ready. It's on you to be ready for games."
Have they hit rock bottom as a team? After an eight-game losing streak, one would surely hope so. The fortitude of the players is being tested in a major way. Do they have the wherewithal to rise to the occasion and turn their season around?
"Absolutely," said Foligno, "you have to find motivation in everything. Right now, our motivation is that our season is on the line, we haven't played well enough and we've been challenged. It's really that simple.
Being challenged to do better and then performing to that expectation are what good teams do. This team is inherently a good team. They've proven in the past that they can overcome hurdles thrown in their way. The time to act is now. The gauntlet has been thrown.
"We've been challenged by our organization and ourselves," Foligno said. "Now it's a matter of stepping up. It just comes down to pride and doing things the right way. The excuses are all gone. No one is feeling sorry for anybody. No one in the league feels sorry for us. Now it's time to go out there and just play our style of game, leave it all on the line. It's just as simple as that. "
The Blue Jackets return to action Tuesday as they take on the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center. Be sure to catch the pregame show "Blue Jackets Live" beginning at 6:30 p.m. on FOX Sports Ohio.
