There was a reason the Blue Jackets looked slow and plodding too often in a disappointing 4-1 loss to the Utah Mammoth on Oct. 3 at Nationwide Arena, and it wasn't foot speed.
The Blue Jackets (1-1-) have gotten a lot bigger with the addition of power forwards Matthew Knies and Valeri Nichushkin, but it shouldn't affect their speed. Those two can motor, but it doesn't matter if turnovers thwart the Jackets' possession time.
"The forwards [have] to be available for the [defensemen in transition], but there were times our 'D' were getting the puck and we've got three forwards all on the same side of the ice," Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness said. "Well, who are you going to give it to?
And if you give it to one of them, they're too easy to check."
It was easy pickings for the Mammoth (2-0-0), whose used size, speed and elite skill to show the Blue Jackets (1-1-0) they've got some rust still attached from the NHL's shortened preseason to prepare for an increase from 82 to 84 games.
The Jackets were sloppy, Utah wasn't and the result was an early wakeup call going into a five-day stretch before the Pittsburgh Penguins arrive Oct. 9 for the front end of a back-to-back they'll finish Oct. 10 in St. Louis.
"We had plans for next week," Bowness said. "They all changed, as of right now, and we've got a lot of work to do because we got exposed tonight. We looked slow because our transition wasn't even close to where it needs to be."
The Mammoth showed the Blue Jackets (1-1-0) a version of what Bowness is trying to build. They didn't just put pucks deep in the Columbus zone all night. They did it with an execution that allowed Utah to hound those pucks, get them back and set up shop inside the Columbus zone.
The Mammoth wreaked havoc, especially in the first period, and capitalized on three of four power plays they got off four penalties.
Two penalties in the third period drew the most ire from Bowness, who wasn't happy with the reckless timing. After battling back to cut Utah's lead to 2-1, the Blue Jackets allowed power-play goals in the third by Dylan Guenther and Nick Schmaltz on penalties by defensemen Denton Mateychuk (high-sticking) and Emil Andrae (slashing).
The Jackets went just 1 for 4 on penalty kills after going 5 for 5 on Oct. 1 in a 6-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in the season-opener.
"Specialty teams cost us," Bowness said. "The other thing that really [ticks] me off is these penalties in the third period. We've got a 2-1 game, and we're taking penalties, and that drives me ... it drove me nuts last year and we just talked about it again tonight. It's got to stop. [It's a] 2-1 game, we're in the third period at home, and we're taking penalties. And that's just ... anyways, we'll fix that."
If there's a positive for the Blue Jackets to take out of their faceplant against Utah, it's how early it happened. Nobody's panicking over one rough night.
"Obviously, we haven't played our best in these first two games," Blue Jackets alternate captain Zach Werenskisaid. "So we're [1-1-0]. There's 82 games left, so it's not time to sound the alarms or anything, but we've definitely got a lot better in here, and I think we know that. We've got a good week of practice coming up and we're going to learn from a lot of things. We're going to correct a few things and just learn from tonight."
Dispatch Blue Jackets/Crew reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here's why Columbus Blue Jackets looked slow in loss to Utah Mammoth
