The Columbus Blue Jackets have seen their playoff hopes fall in recent weeks. At one point, the Blue Jackets were in a fantastic position to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, they have fallen well behind the pack in the East. Following their loss to the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, the Blue Jackets are now eight points back of the East's final Wild Card spot.

The Senators received a big-time performance from goalie Linus Ullmark on Sunday. He turned aside all 29 shots he faced as Ottawa claimed a 4-0 win at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

It certainly did not help that goalie Danill Tarasov was pulled in the first period. Elvis Merzlikins entered after Tarasov allowed two goals on six shots. However, defenseman Ivan Provorov supported his goalie on Sunday. Instead, he pointed to an area that he believes has served as the “weakest spot” of his team's season.

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“I don’t think it’s ‘Tary’s’ fault, obviously,” Provorov said of Tarasov, via NHL.com's Callum Fraser. “I think the whole team, as a team, we didn’t start on time once again on a back-to-back. Honestly, I don’t really know what our problem is with back-to-backs, but this has been our weakest spot so far of the season.”

The Blue Jackets certainly have struggled with back-to-backs in 2024-25. This showed on Sunday night. Their slow start out of the gate certainly contributed to the Blue Jackets being shutout for the second straight game. Moreover, they have been shutout in five of their last 12 games as their playoff hopes fade.

“Clearly, we’re not scoring goals,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said, via Fraser. “So, it just gets magnified when you get down because you’re pressing even harder, and when you’re not having success and you’re not scoring goals and you’re pressing, it’s not a good recipe.”