"Very concerned that we're not dialing in": Blue Jackets HC makes feelings extremely clear after morale-damaging loss to Avs

Colombus Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason made his concerns clear after Columbus' disappointing 7-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.

The loss dropped the Blue Jackets to 34-31-9 for the season and left them four points behind the Canadiens for the final wild card spot in the East. Columbus held a 3-2 lead in the second period before falling apart, giving up five straight goals.

When asked about his level of concern regarding the Blue Jackets' defense, Evason said (5:36):

"Very concerned that we're not dialing in to keep it out of our net. It's our job as coaches to systematically dial it back in and get them to play the right way. At this point in the year, you'd think we wouldn't have to do that, but there were definitely some mistakes tonight."

Evason cited defensive lapses in recent games as well:

"We talked about them last game too - goals that shouldn't have gone in, opportunities we shouldn't have given up. At this point in the year, we should be pretty dialed in, but there are some factors contributing to that, and we'll evaluate it, let this one go, and look forward to the next game."

For the Blue Jackets, Sean Monahan, Zach Aston-Reese and Boone Jenner scored. Goaltender Elvis Merzlikins was pulled after allowing seven goals on 28 shots and was replaced by Daniil Tarasov.

Nathan MacKinnon, Charlie Coyle, Cale Makar, Miles Wood, Parker Kelly, Brock Nelson and Devon Toews scored for Colorado, while Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 27 shots in the win.

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Game recap: Blue Jackets' 7-3 loss to Avalanche

MacKinnon opened the scoring for Colorado at 3:25 of the first, slipping a wrister through Merzlikins’ pads. Monahan quickly tied it at 6:35, tapping in a rebound, but Nelson gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead at 18:05 with a one-timer off the end boards.

“We put a lot of good minutes in their zone and felt like we're going to get back into it. They were able to get two in the third before we could have a push,” Columbus forward Boone Jenner said.

In the second period, Aston-Reese tied it 2-2 at 4:16, ending a 57-game goal drought. Jenner made it 3-2 at 7:56, stuffing in a rebound, but Coyle tied it again at 12:39. Kelly gave Colorado a 4-3 edge at 14:02 with a high-slot snipe. Makar added a power-play goal at 19:22 off a MacKinnon cross-ice feed, making it 5-3.

Toews extended the lead to 6-3 at 4:01 of the third with a wrister through traffic before Wood capped the scoring at 5:49, finishing a setup from Coyle to hand the Blue Devils a 7-3 loss.