The Chase is your morning primer on where the Blue Jackets stand and what needs to happen for 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs positioning.
Only two teams in the group of Eastern Conference playoff combatants were on the ice last night: Buffalo who lost in spectacular fashion to the Oilers, falling further back in the hunt for the final wild card spot, and the Toronto Maple Leafs, who rolled a good Flames team in Calgary to move within a point of Boston for second in the Atlantic.
Here's a look at where matters stand right now, with your Columbus Blue Jackets two points out of a wild card spot (thank you, blessed ROW) with 17 remaining games, starting tonight in New Jersey.
| GP | GR | W | L | OT | PTS | ROW | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| METROPOLITAN | ||||||||
| WASHINGTON CAPITALS | 66 | 16 | 38 | 21 | 7 | 83 | 34 | 7–3–0 |
| NEW YORK ISLANDERS | 65 | 17 | 37 | 21 | 7 | 81 | 34 | 4–5–1 |
| CAROLINA HURRICANES | 65 | 17 | 36 | 23 | 6 | 78 | 35 | 8–2–0 |
| ATLANTIC | ||||||||
| TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING | 66 | 16 | 50 | 12 | 4 | 104 | 44 | 9–1–0 |
| BOSTON BRUINS | 65 | 17 | 39 | 17 | 9 | 87 | 37 | 9–0–1 |
| TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS | 66 | 16 | 41 | 21 | 4 | 86 | 41 | 6–3–1 |
| WILD CARD | ||||||||
| PITTSBURGH PENGUINS | 65 | 17 | 34 | 22 | 9 | 77 | 33 | 6–2–2 |
| MONTREAL CANADIENS | 66 | 16 | 35 | 24 | 7 | 77 | 33 | 4–6–0 |
| COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS | 65 | 17 | 36 | 26 | 3 | 75 | 36 | 4–6–0 |
Columbus, Carolina, Pittsburgh and Montreal are all in action tonight, so we could see movement in and out of the final wild card spot and possibly the No. 3 spot in the Metro.
Here are your rooting interests for the evening of Tuesday, March 5.
| Home | Away | Who to Cheer for |
|---|---|---|
| NEW JERSEY (25–33–8, 58p) | COLUMBUS (36–26–3, 75p) | The boys in white. |
| NY ISLANDERS (37–21–7, 81p) | OTTAWA (23–38–5, 51p) | The Sens. We're counting on you, Duke. |
| BOSTON (39–17–9, 87p) | CAROLINA (36–23–6, 78p) | Bruins. Metro teams need Metro teams to lose to non-Metro teams. |
| PITTSBURGH (34–22–9, 77p) | FLORIDA (28–26–11, 67p) | Come for the Aleksander Barkov dangles. Stay for the upset. |
| LOS ANGELES (24–33–8, 56p) | MONTREAL (35–24–7, 77p) | Is it possible to cheer for Jeff Carter's team? We're going to try. |
You have to think the Bruins have a good chance of helping the Blue Jackets out. They're on fire lately, going 9–0–1 over their previous 10. Outside of that game, it's a favorable slate for teams currently battling with Columbus as the Islanders, Penguins and Canadiens will all be favored this evening (although Carey Price missed practice Monday with the flu).
Today's stress ball, because playoff pushes are stressful: Connor McDavid misses an empty net.
