Columbus Blue Jackets: Will Punishing Practice Turn Team's Fortunes Around?

The beginning of this season has been nothing close to what the Columbus Blue Jackets front office believed the start of the season would look like.

After five games, the Blue Jackets sit at the spot they have kept warm for the past few seasons which is the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

The team was expected to be a force to be reckoned with in the West after the team acquired both All-Star Jeff Carter and power-play quarterback defenseman James Wisniewski.

The eight-game suspension Wisniewski earned in the preseason threw a wrench in Columbus' plans for the start of the season, and they have gotten off to the worst start in franchise history at 0-4-1.

After their latest lost to the Dallas Stars on Saturday, where the Jackets only totaled 15 shots on goal, coach Scott Arniel was a man of few words in the locker room post game.

On Sunday, on a day the Jackets would usually get a day off, Arniel held an hour-long practice, one in which general manager Scott Howson said "it was...I'm measuring my words here....appropriate."

Arniel worked the players for 60 minutes, switching between contact and skating drills, with little rest in between,

“It was a 60-minute practice,” Arniel said. “We didn’t want to work (Saturday) night for 60 minutes. We have 77 more games where we have to work for 60 minutes."

“They worked as hard at the end of this today as they did at the beginning. That, to me, means it’s a mindset. That’s the difference between your will and your compete and whether or not you want to do it.”

Captain Rick Nash stated that he had not experienced a practice like this since his days in Juniors, while R.J. Umberger stated that it was something that the team deserved.

So far this season, the only players that have impressed are those on the first line—Nash, Carter and Vinny Prospal. The production on the other three lines has been almost non-existent, which spells trouble for any team.

Now that Carter could miss some time due to a fracture in his foot, the other lines have no choice but to step up and start to contribute.

Carter is a huge loss for the Jackets, as he leads all forwards in ice time (19:54), shots on goal (20), and faceoff wins (63).

It is now or never for the Blue Jackets, especially Howson who could be out of a job if he cannot turn things around soon.

He has already begun to shake up the lineup as top prospects Cam Atkinson, and now Matt Calvert have been sent to Springfield.

Howson is trying to send a message to his players that unless your name is Nash, Carter or Prospal, you are not safe.

The season has already gotten to the point where Tuesday's game against the Dallas Stars has been called a "must-win" by Nash. It will be interesting to see if Arniel's punishment practice flips the switch, and the Jackets give it their all for the entire game and not just two periods.

It is not too late for Columbus to turn their fortunes around, but if they do not do so quickly, a season of promise will have already been lost.