The Chase is your morning report on where the Blue Jackets stand in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs race. What happened, what's next, and who to cheer for.
With just two games across the NHL last night, not much of anything changed in the race for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
Of interest to readers of The Chase, is the result from Washington D.C., where the Minnesota Wild topped the Capitals, 2-1. Of the four teams ahead of the Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan Division, three of them are now riding losing streaks, so there's that at least.
Speaking of the Jackets, they're back in action Sunday night in Vancouver, two days after getting pasted by Edmonton in a truly demoralizing loss.
Here's where we stand on Saturday, March 23.
| GP | GR | W | L | OT | PTS | ROW | STRK | L10 | Make Playoffs [#] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| METROPOLITAN | ||||||||||
| WASHINGTON CAPITALS | 75 | 7 | 43 | 24 | 8 | 94 | 39 | L1 | 6–3–1 | 99.77% (-0.13) |
| NY ISLANDERS | 74 | 8 | 42 | 25 | 7 | 91 | 38 | L2 | 5–5–0 | 98.24% (-0.13) |
| PITTSBURGH PENGUINS | 75 | 7 | 40 | 24 | 11 | 91 | 38 | W1 | 6–2–2 | 98.28% (-0.04) |
| ATLANTIC | ||||||||||
| p-TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING | 75 | 7 | 58 | 13 | 4 | 120 | 52 | W7 | 9–1–0 | 100% (NC) |
| BOSTON BRUINS | 74 | 8 | 45 | 20 | 9 | 99 | 43 | W3 | 7–3–0 | 100% (NC) |
| TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS | 74 | 8 | 44 | 25 | 5 | 93 | 44 | W1 | 5–4–1 | 99.92% (+0.02) |
| WILD CARD | ||||||||||
| CAROLINA HURRICANES | 73 | 9 | 40 | 26 | 7 | 87 | 38 | L1 | 6–3–1 | 92.42% (+0.05) |
| MONTREAL CANADIENS | 74 | 8 | 39 | 29 | 7 | 85 | 37 | W2 | 5–5–0 | 60.00% (-0.27) |
| COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS | 74 | 8 | 40 | 30 | 4 | 84 | 39 | L2 | 4–5–1 | 49.34% (+0.57) |
| PHILADELPHIA FLYERS | 74 | 8 | 36 | 30 | 8 | 80 | 34 | W1 | 5–4–1 | 1.71% (NC) |
p - Clinched President's Trophy; x - Clinched Playoff Spot
Columbus remains one point back of Montreal for the WC2 spot, three back of Carolina for WC1, and seven back of the Islanders and Penguins for the No. 2 and 3 spots in the Metro Division.
The Blue Jackets have a game in hand on a few teams ahead of them in the Metro race. After tonight, they'll have a game in hand on every team in front of them with the exception of Carolina as the Jackets and Hurricanes will each have eight to play.
Tonight's Games of Interest
| Home | Away | Who to Cheer for |
|---|---|---|
| MONTREAL (39–28–7, 85p) | BUFFALO (31–33–9, 71p) | Buffalo. More than any other time we've needed Buffalo. |
| PHILADELPHIA (36–30–8, 80p) | NY ISLANDERS (42–25–7, 91p) | Islanders. CBJ need the wild card to be a three-team race. |
| CAROLINA (40–25–7, 87p) | MINNESOTA (35–31–9, 79p) | Wild. Always take Western teams over Eastern teams this time of year. |
| DALLAS (38–30–6, 82p) | PITTSBURGH (34–31–9, 77p) | Dallas. See above. |
| TORONTO 44–25–5, 93p) | NY RANGERS (28–32–13, 69p) | No real impact on the CBJ, but Rangers for the lulz. |
The CBJ are off tonight, but five games from around the league are relevant to their concerns.
Tonight, we'll be cheering for a bad Sabres team to steal a win in Montreal, the Islanders to put another nail in Philadelphia's coffin, and then Minnesota and Dallas, two playoff-hungry teams out west, to top Carolina and Pittsburgh, respectively.
As always, we're after regulation outcomes, not overtime results where both teams get at least one point.
Blue Jackets Playoff Odds
| Make It In | 2nd Rnd | Conf. Finals | SC Finals | Win SC | Win Metro | 2nd Metro | 3rd Metro | WC1 | WC2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
49.34% +0.57 |
19.3% NC |
9% NC |
4.2% NC |
1.9% NC |
0.1% +0.1 |
1.1% +0.2 |
4.1% +0.2 |
11.5% +0.2 |
32.5% -0.1 |
Odds courtesy of MoneyPuck.com
Washington's loss to Minnesota led to slight movement for Blue Jackets odds in most scenarios, but not much, as the Caps are at least three points up on everyone else in the Metro.
Today's stress ball: How important is the faceoff to start overtime? Allow the Ducks to show you…
