The second goal prompted Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason to make a quick goaltending change from Tarasov to Merzlikins, who started 22 hours earlier in a 5-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. The switch in goalies snapped the Blue Jackets awake, but their slumber was only half the issue.

The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to fall behind and chase games. And now the Jackets are back in a scoring funk where they don’t create many scoring chances, much less get one past the goaltender. It’s as if the club that was so vivacious and dangerous in the first five months of the season — quite possibly the best story in the NHL this season — has gone missing.

A 5-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday was the latest gut punch, and the apparent unraveling of what’s been a memorable season is getting harder to watch. This was the fifth time they’ve been shut out in 15 games since seizing control of the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference on March 1.