The Blue Jackets look like a team that suddenly doesn't trust one another, and there's sudden evidence of it

Don't worry, I'll be saving the heavy reflective stuff for the end of the year.

On a night where they absolutely needed goals and points in the standings, the Columbus Blue Jackets went almost half the game straight without registering a shot on goal. For all of the talk about the team's issues being due to poor coaching in the moment back in December and January, the version of the Union Blue we saw out on the Nationwide Arena rink last night looked a lot like the team that lost 7 of 8 in mid-December.

The problems we are seeing are the same issues that have been plaguing this team since it last won a playoff round in 2019. Poor puck management, disjointed lines that almost seem scared to skate with one another at times, a "forecheck" in name only that's more concerned about getting off the ice to rest its feet than generating offensive zone pressure.

Not to mention, what looks to be complete exhaustion from several players on the roster, and most importantly: what seems to me to be a sudden lack of trust between teammates. That last one is the most concerning point, and there was sudden evidence after the game last night that it might be the case.

Friend of the team here at Union and Blue and contributor to the Hockey Writers reported the following on his X/Twitter following the game.

There's no case I can think of where a long player-only meeting, or at least a session of Rick Bowness going vintage John Tortorella on his squad, with five games left in the season, was a good thing or something that sparked a team to immediate success. Perhaps someone might, but I can't think of an example.

The question is now: where do they go from here? Both Rick Bowness and Zach Werenski talked postgame about feeling that they still have the answers to their issues in the room, and that they have the ability to both solve them quickly and make a playoffs spot with five games left. Three of which are upcoming and against teams either above the playoff line, or within a point of it as of the writing of this article.

Zach, at least, approached the issue as a leader should, following a flat performance by the entire squad. Mason Marchment and Zach Aston-Reese approached the situation the same way, noting that they trusted their teammates and could solve issues in the room.

I can't claim to know what the culture inside that locker room looks like right now, but the issues seem apparent to at least a fan as a mostly casual observer. There were too many times last night when I saw Cole Sillinger or Adam Fantilli pushing the puck up the ice with their speed, only to find that the remainder of their teammates were half a rink behind them, either casually skating or accelerating off the ice to facilitate a line change.

The Jackets had precious few sustained lengths of zone pressure, and it seemed like every time they had a chance to start one, a pass would go awry, a guy would try to create all by himself, or a casual pass would end up in another poor turnover. To me, that looks like a team that's playing out of its system and having issues trusting one another, neither of which are conducive to a deep postseason run.

The Blue Jackets have five games left, all against playoff teams or playoff hopefuls. There are no more nights left where they can phone it in. The recent slump of the rest of the teams hovering around the Eastern Conference playoff line has been a blessing, to say the least, for this club, but it won't last.

If they truly want to make the playoffs, this team quickly needs to find the trust in one another again immediately, or it will be another lost season for a franchise that has already seen far too many of them over the past quarter-century.