So much for the first-place Blue Jackets, and so much for the weakened Detroit Red Wings.

The display in Nationwide Arena last night looked similar to the first three games of the Stanley Cup playoffs in the spring, when the Red Wings ran circles around the Blue Jackets.

Only this, hard to believe, was worse.

A 9-1 win by the Red Wings set a Blue Jackets franchise record for the most goals allowed in a home game and tied two other blowouts from the 2001-02 season for the worst loss in franchise history.

Another unofficial record was set: quietest gathering of 15,304 in Nationwide Arena, thanks to Detroit's 4-0 first-period lead.

"I guess I shouldn't say a loss is a loss," Blue Jackets defenseman Mike Commodore said. "That's a loss with an asterisk next to it when you lose by more than a touchdown."

Coach Ken Hitchcock ordered the players to remain at their locker stalls after the game until he could talk to them after dealing with the media.

"We're not going to put this behind us and just write it off," Hitchcock said. "We really got schooled today. We got beat by a club that was ready to play, and we weren't."

The Blue Jackets fell behind 1-0 only 1:05 into the game and 2-0 after 3:03. When the score grew to 3-0 at 7:31, Hitchcock gave goaltender Steve Mason the hook. He did so, he said later, to wake up the rest of the group. Mason stopped only three of the first six shots he faced, but two were deflected.

Mason went back into the game to start the second period and ended up stopping just 16 of the final 21 shots he faced.

"Mase is going to have to bury this with the rest of us," Hitchcock said. "He's going to have to live through it with the rest of us."

Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash scored midway through the second to make it 4-1. But the Red Wings answered with two goals in 33 seconds later in the period. They then played pile-on -- while the Jackets played "pylon" -- in the third.

The Blue Jackets chased the action throughout the game, allowing the Red Wings to make 100-foot passes out of their end and spending long stretches chasing the puck around Mason.

When the Jackets tried to check, they mostly checked the glass, proof that they were behind the action.

Seven Red Wings players scored goals, and six had multipoint games. Niklas Kronwall and Justin Abdelkader enjoyed the first two-goal games of their careers.

"It's like they had six or seven guys on the ice at a time," Blue Jackets winger R.J. Umberger said.

It was reminiscent of the first round of the playoffs last season, when the Red Wings swept the Jackets.

"This was beyond the playoffs," Nash said. "We didn't show up tonight. We got outbattled in every area of the game."

It wasn't much of a celebration for Hitchcock, who became the 16th coach to work 1,000 NHL games. This game produced the most goals allowed and the most lopsided score since he took over the Blue Jackets on Nov. 24, 2006.

"One thousand and one is Friday" against Anaheim, Hitchcock said. "We're going to learn a lesson first, though."

aportzline@dispatch.com