The Columbus Blue Jackets are consistently inconsistent, so today’s 5-4 loss to the host Detroit Red Wings fit a pattern of other games lately: an early multi-goal lead was erased, and a lead by the comeback team was blown.
There were many lineup changes, headlined by the return of Patrik Laine. Yegor Chinakhov was scratched in his place, and David Jiricek was returned to the AHL Cleveland Monsters to make room on the roster for Laine (more on this below). On the blue line, Adam Boqvist dressed for the first time since the previous game against Detroit, in place of the scratched Jake Bean.