The Columbus Blue Jackets got a big bump after changing coaches to Rick Bowness, but a slump down the stretch cost them a playoff berth.
And Bowness was furious, ripping into the team after a 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals in the season finale on Tuesday, April 14.
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“All you have to do is look at the stat sheet,” Bowness said. “Three hits and 23 giveaways. I don’t know if I’m back, but if I’m back I’m changing this culture. These guys, they don’t care. Losing is not important enough to them. It doesn’t bother them. How can you go out and play like that? This is why we’re out of the playoffs. That kind of effort.”
The Blue Jackets went 21-11-5 after Bowness replaced fired Dean Evason on Jan. 12, but it happened in two stretches. There was a 10-1 run heading into the Olympics and a 2-8-1 slide down the stretch.
“We talked about it after the Olympic break,” he said. “It’s going to get tough. It’s going to get hard. So everything is going good when it’s going their way and now it gets tough, we don’t want to battle back.”
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Bowness was hired through the end of the season with the plan to talk to general manager Don Waddell after the season about whether he’ll return. He said he will change the “freaking culture” if he does.
“Some of those guys are so lucky the season is over and there’s no practice tomorrow,” he said.
Tuesday’s game was meaningless because the Blue Jackets were eliminated on April 14. It was their sixth consecutive loss at home and their sixth season out of the playoffs.
“It’s terrible and inexcusable,” he said. “If they’re not embarrassed by not only tonight, but that, they’re on the wrong team.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blue Jackets’ Rick Bowness rants after playoff miss: ‘They don’t care’