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.
Big. Two. Points.
The Blue Jackets got it done in Vancouver last night, as Sergei Bobrovsky recorded his career-high seventh shutout of the season on the way to a 5-0 victory over the Canucks.
Josh Anderson scored twice, Pierre-Luc Dubois snapped a slump, and you can feel the tension easing just a little bit in Columbus.
In other games, the Capitals put Philadelphia to sleep, 3-1, the Islanders shut out Arizona, 2-0, and the Carolina Hurricanes edged Montreal, 2-1 in overtime. The Jackets got their two, but didn't get much in the way of help with the Canes and Montreal going to overtime. Carolina's victory is the outcome we needed, however, each team recorded points.
Here's where we stand on Monday, March 25.
| GP | GR | W | L | OT | PTS | ROW | STRK | L10 | Make Playoffs [#] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| METROPOLITAN | ||||||||||
| WASHINGTON CAPITALS | 76 | 6 | 44 | 24 | 8 | 96 | 40 | W1 | 6–3–1 | 99.87% (+0.19) |
| NY ISLANDERS | 76 | 6 | 44 | 25 | 7 | 95 | 40 | W2 | 6–4–0 | 99.78% (+0.39) |
| PITTSBURGH PENGUINS | 76 | 6 | 41 | 24 | 11 | 93 | 39 | W2 | 6–2–2 | 99.15% (-0.28) |
| ATLANTIC | ||||||||||
| (p) TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING | 76 | 6 | 58 | 14 | 4 | 120 | 52 | L1 | 8–2–0 | 100% (NC) |
| (x) BOSTON BRUINS | 75 | 7 | 46 | 20 | 9 | 101 | 44 | W4 | 7–3–0 | 100% (NC) |
| TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS | 75 | 7 | 44 | 25 | 6 | 94 | 44 | OT1 | 4–4–2 | 99.88% (-0.03) |
| WILD CARD | ||||||||||
| CAROLINA HURRICANES | 75 | 7 | 42 | 26 | 7 | 91 | 40 | W2 | 6–3–1 | 98.13% (+2.83) |
| MONTREAL CANADIENS | 76 | 6 | 40 | 28 | 8 | 88 | 38 | OT1 | 5–4–1 | 53.95% (-8.33) |
| COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS | 75 | 7 | 41 | 30 | 4 | 86 | 40 | W1 | 5–4–1 | 49.22% (+5.50) |
| PHILADELPHIA FLYERS | 76 | 6 | 36 | 32 | 8 | 80 | 34 | L2 | 4–6–0 | 0.01% (-0.25) |
p - Clinched President's Trophy; x - Clinched Playoff Spot
Columbus played its best game in a long time last night, and find themselves right back in a battle with Montreal for the second wild card spot. The Jackets are two points back of the Habs with a game in hand and you can see their respective odds to make the playoffs jump in opposite directions based on last night's results.
With just seven games remaining, the best realistic outcome for the Blue Jackets is now the first wild card spot, with a glimmer of hope of making a run on the Metro 3 spot if the Jackets can catch fire while the Pens, Canes and Canadiens all stumble to the finish.
At this point, though, the Blue Jackets are playing for their lives, which means the last spot in the Eastern Conference.
Tonight's Game(s) of Interest
| Home | Away | Who to Cheer for |
|---|---|---|
| NY RANGERS (29–32–13, 71p) | PITTSBURGH (41–24–11, 93p) | Rangers. For so many reasons. |
You want a Rangers victory in regulation here because the Blue Jackets still have the tiniest of chances to storm into the No. 3 spot in the Metropolitan Division. But let's be real: we don't need a reason to cheer against the Pens.
Blue Jackets Playoff Odds
| Make It In | 2nd Rnd | Conf. Finals | SC Finals | Win SC | Win Metro | 2nd Metro | 3rd Metro | WC1 | WC2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
49.22% +5.50 |
16.9% +1.5 |
7.7% +0.6 |
3.5% +0.2 |
1.6% +0.1 |
0% NC |
0.3% -0.1 |
1.7% -0.3 |
8.3% +0.1 |
38.9% +5.8 |
Odds courtesy of MoneyPuck.com
The Blue Jackets are almost a coin toss to make it into the playoffs, according to Money Puck's model. If they can beat the Islanders Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena, look for some of these numbers to jump.
Today's stress ball: Seth Jones is a bad, bad man.
