The Columbus Blue Jackets closed out their season with an underwhelming 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals at Nationwide Arena Tuesday. The Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead at the beginning of the second period, but did little else after that and racked up their sixth straight home loss to close the campaign. Here are our three takeaways from Tuesday’s game:

1.    The biggest news coming out of the loss Tuesday was Columbus head coach Rick Bowness’s comments at his post-game presser. He did not mince words when he talked about his squad’s effort, not only against Washington, but in the games after the Olympic break. “I don’t know if I’m back, but if I’m back, I’m changing this culture. These guys, they don’t care. Losing is not important enough to them. It doesn’t bother them. How can you go out and play like that?”

2.   So, what will the Blue Jackets look like when they take the ice in the fall? The first item on GM Don Waddell’s agenda will be what to do with the unrestricted free agents on the CBJ roster. They are: Charlie Coyle (F), Mason Marchment (F), Boone Jenner (F), Danton Heinen (F), Zach Aston-Reese (F), Erik Gudbranson (D), and Brendan Smith (D). If Bowness is retained behind the bench, who in this group can help with the culture change he envisions?

3.   It was hard to ignore the captain on the other bench Tuesday night: Alex Ovechkin for the Caps. We were among a drove of photographers trying to capture what might be OV’s last game. The NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer says that he has not decided yet whether he will be back next season. That possibility did not change the crowd’s awareness of where he was on the ice whenever he took a shift. That crowd included a lot of Washington fans who made the trip to Nationwide just in case.