COLUMBUS, Ohio A collection of notes, insights, ruminations, and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Blue Jackets:

Item No. 1: Inside an awful start

Remarkable, isnt it, how the optimism and excitement for a season can deflate quicker than a popped balloon?

The Blue Jackets have opened the season with three regulation losses for only the third time in franchise history. In 2015-16, they were 0-8 a modern record for futility at the start of a season before getting a win. In 2011-12, they went 0-3 before tasting victory.

The internal focus all summer and the point driven home throughout training camp was that the Blue Jackets needed to be a stiffer club defensively after allowing nearly 300 goals last season. But despite that effort and oxygen, the Jackets look even more feeble without the puck.

No cohesion. No snarl. No confidence.

The Blue Jackets have been outscored 6-0 and outshot 40-21 in the third period so far this season. They arent just losing, they are fading into the sunset each night, which is never a good look, especially when you get housed in the home opener.

But things are never as bad as they seem. There are multiple reasons (excuses?) you can point to that help explain why this season has gone off the rails before it even left the station.

Heres a list of those maladies, along with a prediction of whether or not it can get better:

1. Intense fragility

Weve seen this before in recent seasons in Columbus, even though many of the names on the roster have changed. When the going gets rough, or the play gets amplified, the Blue Jackets have spans in the season where they just come unglued under the pressure.

Go here to see the original:
Blue Jackets Sunday Gathering: Anatomy of an awful start, jamming with Caamp - The Athletic