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Blue Jackets Vs. Kings: Columbus Apparently Done In By Clock Malfunction

More: Screwed By The Bell

Columbus’ season may have reached a new low Wednesday night.

It’s not that the Blue Jackets lost to the Kings. L.A., after all, has 60 points and figures to be around come playoff time. So it’s not that.

It’s also not that the loss was Columbus’ sixth in a row. This is the team’s third separate six-game losing streak – including an 0-8 start to the season – so the loss itself is hardly breaking news.

But none of Columbus’ league-worst 32 losses came like this.

The Blue Jackets fell 3-2 on a bizarre last-second goal from Drew Doughty. The goal went in with less than one second to go — with a catch: The clock inexplicably froze at 1.8 while Columbus faced a barrage of shots. (Here is an excellent video and explanation of the malfunction.)

The clock started again, but between 1.8 and 0.0 Doughty slipped in a goal.

Blue Jackets interim coach Todd Richards was perplexed afterward:

"Watching the replay and talking with our producer who runs our show, the clock stopped at 1.8 seconds, and it stopped for 1.5 seconds, and they scored with 0.5 seconds. Something happened, and it’s really disappointing."

Columbus’ goals came from Derek Dorsett in the second, and Colton Gillies in the third. Gollies’ goal knotted it at two, which is where the score stood until the end of regulation. Well, almost the end.

For more on the Columbus Blue Jackets, go to The Cannon. You can also head over to SB Nation’s main NHL hub at SBNation.com/NHL.

Photographs by spatulated, Triple Tri, and chrischappelear used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.