October 13th: 8-2 Loss at Tampa Bay
Coming off of a 5-4 road win against the Florida Panthers the Jackets were off to a solid 3-1-0 start to the season. They took the short trip across the Florida peninsula to Tampa Bay for their first true test of the year.
To say they failed the test would be an understatement.
The Jackets were beat down 8-2 by the Lightning in what might be the Jackets worst game of the season so far. The Jackets failed in every sense of the word against the defending Atlantic Division champs in their embarrassing Saturday night loss.
The Jackets allowed a goal late in the second period that crushed any momentum they may have had after cutting a 3-0 lead to a 3-2 lead in the second period. After that Brayden Point goal to extend the lead to 4-2, the Jackets would go on to give up four more goals in the third period.
Coach John Tortorella elected to keep Sergei Bobrovsky in for the entire game despite giving up eight goals on only 31 shots. The Jackets were 0-5 on the man advantage and gave up four power play goals.
The Jackets failed offensively, defensively and on special teams in their first true test of the season against a Stanley Cup contender.