Blue Jackets’ head coach Rick Bowness lays into players after Hurricanes blowout

The whole hockey world sat and waited for the Columbus Blue Jackets’ bubble to burst after they hired Rick Bowness as their new head coach and went on a stunning run to get into a playoff spot. At one point, Columbus made it to second in the Metropolitan Division and looked like one of the top contenders to make it out of the East. However, after a five-game losing streak, the Bowness effect is starting to wear off, according to Mark Scheig via X, formerly Twitter.

“Rick Bowness not holding back when talking to reporters in Raleigh. Said some guys ‘better start to listen again.’ He also said some guys are on their ‘own program out there’,” Scheig reported after the Blue Jackets’ 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

It isn’t the first time this week that Bowness expressed concern about his team starting to check out. It has been a long road for Columbus to get back to where they are, and, in reality, we haven’t seen many teams do that over an extended period. Bowness likely knew this was coming at some point; it’s just unfortunate timing in a loaded Eastern Conference.

The Blue Jackets could be in tough to make the postseason now that they are tied with the Red Wings and Senators. They have the worst tiebreaker out of the three teams, with only 27 regulation wins. The Senators have also shown an ability to get red-hot when they can get some average goaltending. It was a legendary run for Bowness and the Blue Jackets, but it might be slipping away.

The post Blue Jackets’ head coach Rick Bowness lays into players after Hurricanes blowout appeared first on ClutchPoints.