It’s one of Dean Evason’s favorite topics because it’s one of his least favorite excuses.
Any question about the difficulty of playing back-to-back games — especially the dreaded second game after a long previous night of travel — causes the eyes of the Columbus Blue Jackets coach to sparkle and a smile to form while he waits to answer.
Evason thinks it’s nothing more than a convenient excuse. He’s made that clear several times this season, including on Thursday before the Blue Jackets played the always-difficult Carolina Hurricanes in Lenovo Center, less than 24 hours after an emotional win in Toronto.
If only the numbers agreed.
The Blue Jackets ran out of gas — physically, emotionally or both — in the second period on Thursday, allowing the Hurricanes to score five consecutive goals on their way to a 7-4 win before 18,700. Carolina teed up 24 shots on goal in the second, the most the Blue Jackets have allowed in a period all season.
That drops the Blue Jackets to 0-7 this season in the second half of a back-to-back. Columbus has been outscored 36-12 in those games, losing by a margin of more than two goals in six of the seven games.
“We got away from our structure a little bit (in the second period), cheated it a little bit,” Evason told reporters in Raleigh. “First shift, they get an odd-man rush. We didn’t stay within ourselves. They obviously had a push, but we needed to be firmer with our structure throughout that second period.”
Later Evason was more to the point: “We were reeling a little bit.”
Kirill Marchenko makes no mistake off a beautiful feed from Adam Fantilli! 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/8IpfXzKNM9
— NHL (@NHL) January 24, 2025
Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko, James van Riemsdyk and Dmitri Voronkov had goals for the Blue Jackets, while Adam Fantilli and Jack Johnson each had two assists. Goaltender Daniil Tarasov finished with 36 saves, but was hung out to dry from the start.
The Jackets led 2-0 after the first period on goals by Johnson and Marchenko, and they seemed poised to build on the win over the Maple Leafs just one night earlier.
But the lead evaporated quickly in the second, with Carolina scoring five goals in a span of 8:46. Until Ivan Provorov’s shot on goal at 9:19 of the second period, the Hurricanes had taken 16 unanswered shots on goal on Tarasov. At one point, they scored goals on three consecutive shots.
The Jackets stopped the bleeding with two net-front deflections — first by van Riemsdyk, then by Voronkov — to give them a sliver of hope, but it was clear their tanks were empty.
“We weren’t playing our game or executing or breaking out,” Johnson said. “We were hemmed in a couple of times.”
The third period was mostly without drama. The Hurricanes bounced on a Dante Fabbro turnover right in front of Tarasov to make it 6-4. Seth Jarvis, who had a four-point night, scored his second goal of the game on an empty-netter with 1:52 remaining to cap the scoring.
Evason doesn’t want to hear it, but the Blue Jackets’ travel schedule, in this instance, was a major challenge. The Blue Jackets are not an exception here. Every NHL team endures difficult travel schedules, including a least a few rough patches that set up as a problem.
The Blue Jackets landed in Raleigh around 1:45 a.m. By the time they cleared customs and were bused to their hotel, it was 2:45 a.m. They skipped a morning skate, instead meeting at the team hotel and then gathering at the rink in the afternoon a few hours before puck drop.
When asked about the challenge before his club — Toronto and Carolina are among the Eastern Conference’s top teams, especially at home — he acknowledged the coaching staff addressed the Blue Jackets’ struggles with the players before Thursday’s game.
THE CANES ARE BUZZING 🐝
Seth Jarvis feeds Jordan Martinook for the @Canes‘ fifth goal in the first 12 minutes of the second period! pic.twitter.com/inuh6GF9O2
— NHL (@NHL) January 24, 2025
He also gave his typical response to the question.
“We talked this morning to the group, and we asked ‘Z’ (Zach Werenski) how many minutes he played (on Wednesday vs. Toronto),” Evason said. “He said he wasn’t sure, and we told him it was under 30 minutes. Now, if he played the most on our team, and say he spends 30 minutes on the ice playing hockey, and he does it again tonight, that’s not that terrible of a job, right? It’s not that taxing.
“I don’t care what time we got in. I don’t care how long the flight was. You play the same way. If you can’t play less than 30 minutes and then skate 30 minutes (again), then you shouldn’t be a professional athlete.”
His ultimate message: “Embrace it. Have some fun with it. Use it as a challenge. And let’s get after it.”
The Blue Jackets, who have five more back-to-backs on the schedule, will get another crack at it before this month is finished. Next week, they play in Las Vegas on Thursday and Utah on Friday, another tough assignment.
(Photo: James Guillory / Imagn Images)
