The Blue Jackets showed more fight Friday night, competing for pucks and position not long after coach John Tortorella questioned the will of his players.
He even benched his captain for a spell. But the team still has a nagging inability to score goals, and it cost them again.
The San Jose Sharks scored two power-play goals and that would have been enough as they left Nationwide Arena with a 3-1 victory.
The Blue Jackets now move into the meat of their schedule coming off losses in consecutive games. They visit the New York Islanders on Saturday night with just 19 goals in their past 12 games.
“We played hard,” Tortorella said. “Again, we’re not scoring. We had some opportunities. … I don’t think we’re that bad. We had two power-play goals scored against us and we had chances and didn’t score. Third period, we had 12 or 13 chances and can’t score.”
The Sharks and their fifth-ranked power play got going early when Logan Couture scored just over five minutes in.
Boone Jenner, playing a day after the funeral for his grandmother, snapped a 12-game goal drought 4:30 into the second when he sent a rising knuckleball from the left wing past goalie Martin Jones.
“It was definitely nice,” Jenner said. “There were different emotions going through me the past few days. It was nice to get that one.”
The storyline took a turn when captain Nick Foligno found himself watching much of the second half of the game from the bench after being called for a penalty that led to the the Sharks’ winning goal.
Foligno had a great scoring chance snuffed out early in the second period when his shot from the slot was stopped by Jones. Yet midway through the second, with the Jackets trying to kill off a Seth Jones penalty, Foligno was called for hooking Mikkel Boedker.
The Sharks cashed in quickly on the 5-on-3 when Kevin Labanc slid into the slot and beat Sergei Bobrovsky from point-blank range.
The Jackets killed off the rest of Foligno’s penalty, but he didn’t see much ice time after exiting the box. He didn’t return until midway through the third — and played just four shifts in the final period.
“It’s the worst feeling in the world,” Foligno said. “You want to be out there, helping your teammates especially after a mistake. That’s really a tough one to sit there and watch. That’s the standard (Tortorella) has and I have to be ready for (Saturday).”
It was obvious Foligno wasn’t happy — with himself or his coach.
“I wanted to play and it sucks to sit there when you’re feeling (crummy) already. That’s on me,” Foligno said. “It’s no one else’s fault. It’s disappointing. … I really don’t have any other comment.”
When asked if the benching had to do with the penalty, Tortorella responded curtly.
“It was a few other things,” he said.
When told Foligno was upset, Tortorella was short again.
“I don’t want to hear any more rhetoric from the players as far as that stuff goes,” Tortorella said.
The Sharks got their third goal with 13:09 left when Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored off a backhand.
The Blue Jackets had numerous scoring chances, including when Tomas Hertl edged out Brandon Dubinsky going for a loose puck behind Martin Jones in the first. They got their first power-play opportunity with 5:26 remaining and closed in on Jones yet failed to put the puck through in a scrum down low.
With 3:30 left, Foligno got off a strong snapshot that Jones (28 saves) captured to all but kill off the threat.
“No one is ever happy when you lose a game,” Dubinsky said. “The good news is, we have another game to play in about 21 hours or so against a good divisional team. “We’ll get back on the horse and get back after it. We’re excited about the stretch coming up. There’s no reason we won’t be ready to play each and every night.”
@GeorgeRichards