And, of course, he was right. Despite putting together an impressive run to pass a group of teams and get back into the mix in the Eastern Conference, the Blue Jackets went into the break still four points behind the Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division and the Bruins for the last wild card spot.
So while many of the Blue Jackets – sans Olympians Zach Werenski and Elvis Merzlikins – returned to practice Wednesday with tans befitting a group that scattered to warmer weather for the past two weeks, it didn’t take long for the focus on the task at hand to become clear.
“The reality is we still don’t have a playoff spot,” Bowness said after the 40-minute skate. “Let’s deal with where we are. We’re out of the playoffs. What we’ve done is put ourselves back in the discussion, back in the hunt, but we’re still in the hunt and now we’re being hunted. There’s seven teams below us that are chasing us.
“We haven’t done anything yet other than get back into that conversation.”
Indeed, the math is still daunting for the Blue Jackets when it comes to earning a postseason berth. Consider this – the team was seven points out of a playoff spot on Jan. 12 when Bowness was hired, then won 10 of 11 games and still remains four points on the wrong side of the bar, showing just how difficult it is to gain ground in the East.
And Bowness’ point about being hunted rings true as well, as three of the teams tied with or behind the Blue Jackets in the standings are Washington, which won the Metropolitan Division last year; Toronto, which has made nine straight playoff appearances; and Florida, which has won, well, two straight Stanley Cups and certainly won’t go quietly.
So when Bowness talks about the work ahead of the Blue Jackets, it’s a message that has been received by his team. Motivation also shouldn’t be in short supply, as Columbus has missed the postseason five years in a row, including a season ago when the campaign came to a painful end with the Jackets just two points back of the final wild card spot.
“100 percent,” defenseman Dante Fabbro said. “Even being here last year missing out on playoffs by two points, using that as motivation, too. Guys who were here last year, which is pretty much everyone minus a few guys, using that as motivation to ensure that doesn’t happen again. I thought we had a great little push before the break, but we need to replicate that and be better after the break.”
The immediate schedule also should provide a certain level of focus as the Blue Jackets work. The first two games on the schedule – Feb. 26 at Boston and Feb. 28 at home vs. the Islanders – are against the two teams immediately ahead of Columbus in the standings.
“We talked about that after the game against Chicago is that this is what we’re coming back to, two teams we’re trying to catch,” Bowness said. “So (the players) know what we’re up against, but we’re still chasing and we’re going to keep chasing until we see that ‘X’ beside our name.”
Bowness said he views this upcoming stretch as a “training camp” and said the Blue Jackets’ practice Wednesday as well as today’s skate will be about getting the legs and feel back. Skates on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday will be “tough days,” then the team will practice again next Wednesday before heading to Beantown for game action.
Yesterday at the office started with a team meeting laying out the schedule that served to refocus the team, and Bowness said some of the squad’s veterans spoke as well. In the coach’s eyes, it’s a committed group that’s ready to lay it all on the line over the final 26 games of the season.
And it all started with a Wednesday workout where the group began preparations for what's to come.
“It was good today to have everyone out there and the same time and get back to what we’ve started building the last little bit and prepare for Boston,” center Charlie Coyle said. “That’s gotta be the mind-set. It was our first good skate on the ice with everyone and getting acclimated, getting good habits back and getting focused and prepared to go again.”
