PITTSBURGH _ It's usually a house of horrors for the Blue Jackets, and PPG Paints Arena lived up to it again Saturday night.
After playing a solid first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the proverbial wheels on the Jackets' bus came flying off.
Also, the hood flew off, the brakes went out, the windshield wipers seized up and all the windows blew out. The Penguins did what they usually do to the Blue Jackets at home, ruining rookie goalie Elvis Merzlikins' NHL debut by blowing open a game they won 7-2 with five second-period goals.
This time, though, it felt even worse than usual.
This one was a beatdown, which included two goals in the second by third-liner Jared McCann, two scored by defensemen _ Kris Letang's first of two and another by Marcus Pettersson _ and, of course, what Penguins victory over the Jackets would be complete without a goal by Patric Hornqvist parked in front of the net?
There was one of those, too, off a long shot by former Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson, along with a second goal for Hornqvist in the third.
Also, there was a fight late in the period between Pierre-Luc Dubois and Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby, whom Dubois used to admire as a kid when Crosby played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
The second period ended just as fittingly for the Jackets, as Seth Jones took a late tripping penalty and Letang scored his first on a power play that made it 5-1 with 1.2 seconds left.
Merzlikins, who stopped all 10 shots he saw in the first period, remained in the game to play the third. He finished out his first NHL start by allowing two more goals in the third _ another by Hornqvist and Teddy Blueger's first of the season _ and left knowing firsthand how some previous Blue Jackets goalies felt.
The Penguins' run of success against the Jackets, especially on their ice, is impressive. They have won nine of the past 10, dating to April 4, 2017, and have earned points in 14 of the past 16.
This was their eighth straight victory at home against the Jackets, and the Penguins' home record against them is 16-4-0.
The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, have some regrouping to do before the Buffalo Sabres pay a visit Monday to Nationwide Arena.
The Jackets got goals from Zach Werenski and Gustav Nyquist, but there wasn't much else for them to take away from this game.
After losing their first two games in regulation to Pittsburgh and the Toronto Maple Leafs by a combined score of 10-2, it's fair to say they've been dropped to the canvas with an early 1-2 combination that landed solidly on the nose.
The watch has officially begun now to see how they will react, starting with the game against Buffalo.
