What we learned from the Ducks’ 4-0 loss to the Blue Jackets

As the line from the film “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” goes, that escalated quickly.

It really did get out of hand fast for the Ducks in a 4-0 loss to Columbus on Friday night. But their concerns go beyond an opening 15 minutes in which they allowed all the scoring.

Here’s what we learned:

The return of Hampus Lindholm can’t come soon enough. It’s not that one defenseman would have made a difference Friday, but in Anaheim’s defensive lapses this season his absence has been more glaring.

Lindholm is perhaps their best defenseman moving the puck out of the zone, is positionally sound and blocks a lot of shots. Unfortunately for the Ducks, he’s still in Sweden waiting on immigration paperwork to be completed after he was re-signed Thursday.

These Ducks are not immune to wild swings. A big win followed by a spectacular loss used to be a trademark of former Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau’s teams. Coach Randy Carlyle was supposed to iron out some of that drama, but perhaps there are leftover traits that Carlyle can’t control.

“If we don’t have a work ethic and we don’t have a competitive spirit in the game, then we don’t have anything,” Carlyle said. “We don’t have a starting point.”

A break might be in order. The Ducks have played nine games in the first 16 days of the season and now get three days off to reset.

“We have a few days here now where we get some good practices and catch our breath a little bit,” defenseman Kevin Bieksa said. “Catch our breath, regroup here and get ready for L.A. [on Tuesday].”

Follow Curtis Zupke on Twitter @CurtisZupke