- Dec 20, 2018
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Severson’s fifth NHL coach is trying to fix the brain farts. Good luck with that Dean!
The discussed play:COLUMBUS, Ohio — Damon Severson was under pressure deep in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ defensive zone, the puck on the backhand side of his stick and his back to the blue line as Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak closed quickly.
In the NHL, players have about a half-second, if they’re lucky, to make a play. Severson could have held onto the puck and waited for support to arrive. Or he could have relied on the age-old adage: “When in doubt, glass and out.”
But that’s not what he did.
Severson tried to make a backhand pass to Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli, who was wide open a few feet away and had a clear path out of the zone. Instead, Severson’s pass was out of reach for Fantilli and right in stride for Bruins forward Morgan Geekie, who scored a pivotal 2-0 goal.
“I see Fantilli is wide open and I make a play,” Severson said. “It’s almost like it happens in slow motion. You want it to go on (Fantilli’s) stick, obviously, and it goes by his stick and you’re like ‘Oh, no.’
“You’re praying it’s not the worst-case scenario, which is what happened, unfortunately.”
This wouldn’t be a story if that were Severson’s only flub in recent weeks. But his inconsistent play, and his propensity for coughing up pucks at the worst times and in the worst locations, has clearly drawn the ire of coach Dean Evason and his staff.
“Any puck that ends up in the (defensive-zone) slot, right down Broadway … it’s not good, regardless of how it happened,” Evason said.
If former Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine hadn’t assailed his former teammates and organization when the Montreal Canadiens were in Columbus on Dec. 23, the fact that the veteran Severson was made a healthy scratch would have been a bigger story. It was a particularly bold move because the Jackets dressed seven defensemen in that game.
On Saturday, in the 4-0 loss to Boston, he was benched for the rest of the second period after the turnover that led to Geekie’s goal.
To his credit, Severson, 30, sat at his stall in the Blue Jackets dressing room after Monday’s practice in Nationwide Arena and took full ownership of Saturday’s gaffe and his recent struggles.
“I’m putting it on my shoulders,” Severson said. “I’m not looking to blame anybody else. It’s little things. You watch me play my entire game, it’s not like I’m bad. I’ve made two plays in the last three or four games, a couple of plays where … I just have to be simpler on the defensive side of the puck and not force things.
The veteran coach didn’t want to make Severson a healthy scratch, and he didn’t want to bench him during Saturday’s game. (Severson returned for the third period,) And he concurred with Severson that it’s not his overall play that’s an issue, just one or two decisions a game that are unnecessarily risky.
“We’re trying to find a way to get those (turnovers) out of his game,” Evason said. “I’ll tell you this: For the majority of the game, it’s really good. It’s just we have to eliminate those major mistakes that end up in our net.
“When I say that, everybody makes mistakes. That’s what this game is about, right? But if they continue to happen, then we have to make, in some way, the player accountable. And Sevvy understands that. He’s a pro. He gets it. Did he like being sat out? No, of course not. But we’re on the same page, and we’re moving forward in a positive manner.”