An ugly start to the season led to Columbus sitting dead last in the NHL, but the Blue Jackets hadn’t yet hit rock bottom.
That all changed Saturday as they were blown out 9-2 in Philadelphia against the Flyers.
Claude Giroux and Jaromir Jagr scored during a five-goal first period, Sean Couturier scored twice for the Flyers and five other players had goals.
James van Riemsdyk, Max Talbot and Jakub Voracek also scored in the first, giving Philadelphia three fewer goals (five) than total shots for Columbus (eight).
“This is definitely embarrassing for us as a team. It’s tough times right now,” Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash said. “Guys are embarrassed of our effort that we put out for the coaching staff, the management. It’s just not good enough.”
The Flyers piled on in the second, with Wayne Simmonds and Matt Carle scoring 20 seconds apart to make it 8-0. Philadelphia scored nine goals in a game for the first time since Feb. 6, 1997, against Montreal
“Things just seemed to be clicking out there,” van Riemsdyk said. “I don’t know, we were making good passes up and down the ice and making smart plays with the puck. When you do that, it makes the game look a lot easier out there.”
Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason was yanked late in the first period after allowing three goals on 12 shots. Allen York gave up two goals on five shots and was replaced by Mason in the second.
For a game, at least, the Flyers were the big winners in the off-season trade that sent leading scorer Jeff Carter to Columbus. Carter is sidelined with a broken foot and has only three assists in five games this season. Philadelphia obtained Voracek, who had an assist during the first-period rampage, and first- and third-round draft picks. The Flyers used their first-rounder on the 18-year-old Couturier and he already has five goals.
Carter’s No. 17 now belongs to Simmonds and he has three goals.
The Flyers entered with a league-high 47 goals.
Elsewhere in the NHL it was: New Jersey 3, Winnipeg 2 (OT); Buffalo 3, Ottawa 2 (SO); New York Islanders 5, Washington 3; Boston 7, Toronto 0; New York Rangers 5, Montreal 3; Detroit 5, Anaheim 0; Minnesota 2, St. Louis 1; Phoenix 4, Edmonton 2; Pittsburgh 3, Los Angeles 2 (SO); and Nashville 4, San Jose 3 (OT).
At Philadelphia, the Blue Jackets were dominated from the opening faceoff. Van Riemsdyk returned from a one-game absence with a lower-body injury to score 1:38 into the game.
From there, it seemed every Flyers player took advantage of his shot to pad his stats.
Jagr caught a break on the power play when the puck appeared to shoot off a Columbus skate, crediting him with his fifth goal. Voracek made a nice feed to Talbot, who attacked the net and pounded the puck past Mason.
That made it 3-0 and Mason was finished – at least for the period. He was replaced in a 4-1 loss to Toronto on Thursday night.
The switch didn’t matter. Giroux scored his ninth goal of the season and Columbus called a timeout. The break didn’t matter. Voracek scored with 35 seconds left in the first.
Voracek was excited after beating his former team for the goal, pumping his fist and flashing a wide smile. He said this week he had something to prove after Columbus coach Scott Arniel said a lack of conditioning had kept Voracek from breaking into elite status.
“I would have liked to talk to him about it more,” Voracek said. “He said that in April and I respect him as a coach. I mean, this is my new lifestyle and my new hockey team.”
Beats playing for his old one. Mason returned for the second period and his numbers were worse – three goals on 10 shots.
Couturier scored a short-handed goal to start the second, capping a nice trio for the Flyers. They also had even-strength and power-play goals.
Simmonds scored and the arena announcement was interrupted by Carle’s goal that made it 8-0 only 20 seconds later.
“As I was saying,” public address announcer Lou Nolan said to a laughing, sellout crowd, “Flyers goal was scored by No. 17, Wayne Simmonds.”
This really was a laugher for Philadelphia.
After the second period, the Flyers staff needed 20 minutes in the third just for research. They found:
– The Flyers had eight players score in a game for the fifth time. It was the first time since Oct. 23, 1983, in an 8-5 win vs. Toronto.
– The Flyers led by eight goals after the second period for the first time since Oct. 18, 1984, vs. Vancouver. They led 9-1 after two and won 13-2.
– The Flyers led 5-0 after one period for the first time since April 3, 2009, vs. Toronto. They led 5-0 and won 8-5.
Whew!
Derek Dorsett spoiled the shutout with a goal against Ilya Bryzgalov late in the third period. Bryzgalov faced only 14 shots through two periods and was never really pressured by the hapless Blue Jackets. Grant Clitsome scored in the final minutes to make it 9-2.
At Detroit, Nicklas Lidstrom had two goals and an assist, Jimmy Howard made 22 saves for his seventh NHL shutout, and the Red Wings snapped a six-game losing streak by beating the Ducks.
At Toronto, Tyler Seguin scored his first-career hat trick and Tim Thomas made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Bruins beat the Maple Leafs.
At Uniondale, N.Y., P.A. Parenteau’s goal with 1:46 remaining broke a tie and led the Islanders to a win over the Capitals.
At Ottawa, Derek Roy scored on Buffalo’s sixth shootout attempt to give the Sabres a win over the Senators.
At New York, Erik Christensen scored one of the Islanders’ three first-period goals, and the Rangers overcame a 1-for-9 effort on the power play to hang on for a victory over the Canadiens.
At Newark, N.J., Adam Henrique scored his second goal of the game 1:28 into overtime to give Martin Brodeur and the Devils a victory over the Jets.
At St. Paul, Minn., Josh Harding stopped 30 shots to win his fourth straight start, and Dany Heatley and Guillaume Latendresse each scored for Minnesota as the Wild beat the Blues.
At Glendale, Ariz., Daymond Langkow, Adrian Aucoin and Boyd Gordon scored for Phoenix, and the Coyotes held off Edmonton, snapping the Oilers’ six-game winning streak.
At San Jose, Calif., David Legwand scored his second goal of the game with 2:53 into overtime to lift the Predators over the Sharks.
At Los Angeles, Chris Kunitz scored the tying goal with 2:57 left in regulation and added the deciding goal in the fourth round of a shootout to lead the Penguins to a victory over the Kings.
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