The Columbus Blue Jackets find themselves in a precarious situation, falling out of playoff contention following a 4-0 shutout loss to the New York Rangers, marking their third consecutive defeat. With only 16 games left in the season, the team faces a daunting task to salvage their playoff hopes.

Coach Dean Evason voiced the team's mounting frustration, citing a lack of scoring as a critical issue, with the Blue Jackets enduring a goal drought exceeding 129 minutes. In this game, missed opportunities, including a near-goal by Dmitri Voronkov, hampered their performance. Despite some early energy from the reunited identity line of Zach Aston-Reese, Justin Danforth, and Mathieu Olivier, defensive missteps led to an early goal from Alexis Lafreniere, and the team could not recover.