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.
Back home after a resounding win in Vancouver, the Blue Jackets are after two more critical points tonight when they welcome the New York Islanders to Nationwide Arena.
The Jackets are 0–3 against the Islanders this season, failing to even light the lamp once in the team's last two meetings, both taking place within the last six weeks.
Anything short of a win tonight will put another monster dent in Columbus' playoff hopes. No pressure, boys.
In NHL action last night, the Penguins rallied from an 0-2 deficit and roared past the Rangers, 5-2. The Pens have now won three straight and are getting multi-goal games from guys like Teddy Blueger.
Here's where we stand on Tuesday, March 26.
| 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 | 99.83% (-0.04) |
| NY ISLANDERS | 76 | 6 | 44 | 25 | 7 | 95 | 40 | W2 | 6–4–0 | 99.71% (-0.07) |
| PITTSBURGH PENGUINS | 77 | 5 | 42 | 24 | 11 | 95 | 40 | W3 | 6–2–2 | 99.77% (+0.62) |
| ATLANTIC | ||||||||||
| (p) TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING | 77 | 5 | 59 | 14 | 4 | 122 | 53 | W1 | 8–2–0 | 100% (NC) |
| (x) BOSTON BRUINS | 76 | 6 | 46 | 21 | 9 | 101 | 44 | L1 | 6–4–0 | 100% (NC) |
| TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS | 76 | 6 | 45 | 25 | 6 | 96 | 45 | W1 | 4–4–2 | 99.96% (+0.08) |
| WILD CARD | ||||||||||
| CAROLINA HURRICANES | 75 | 7 | 42 | 26 | 7 | 91 | 40 | W2 | 6–3–1 | 97.83% (-0.30) |
| MONTREAL CANADIENS | 76 | 6 | 40 | 28 | 8 | 88 | 38 | OT1 | 5–4–1 | 53.22% (-0.73) |
| COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS | 75 | 7 | 41 | 30 | 4 | 86 | 40 | W1 | 5–4–1 | 49.67% (+0.45) |
| PHILADELPHIA FLYERS | 76 | 6 | 36 | 32 | 8 | 80 | 34 | L2 | 4–6–0 | 0.01% (NC) |
p - Clinched President's Trophy; x - Clinched Playoff Spot
Pittsburgh's win creates a logjam at the top of the Metropolitan Division standings with the division-leading Caps, Islanders, and Pens all within a point of each other. If – and this is a big if – the Blue Jackets can play their way into the first wild card spot, they could face any of those three in the first round of the playoffs.
Tonight's Game(s) of Interest
| Home | Away | Who to Cheer for |
|---|---|---|
| COLUMBUS (41–30–4, 88p) | NY ISLANDERS (44–25–7, 95p) | The boys in blue. |
| WASHINGTON (44–24–8, 95p) | CAROLINA (42–26–7, 91p) | Caps. You're cheering against CAR and MTL the rest of the way. |
| MONTREAL (40–28–8, 88p) | FLORIDA (33–31–12, 78p) | Panthers. See above. |
Every time we lay out a best-cast scenario, it backfires, but if the Blue Jackets take care of business tonight and get a little help from the Capitals (who are favored) and the Panthers (who are not favored), the CBJ could wake up in the WC2 spot three points out of WC1.
Blue Jackets Playoff Odds
| Make It In | 2nd Rnd | Conf. Finals | SC Finals | Win SC | Win Metro | 2nd Metro | 3rd Metro | WC1 | WC2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
49.67% +0.45 |
18.1% +1.2 |
8.3% +0.6 |
3.9% +0.4 |
1.8% +0.2 |
0% NC |
0.2% -0.1 |
1.3% -0.4 |
7.7% -0.6 |
40.5% +1.7 |
Odds courtesy of MoneyPuck.com
As we head into the last two weeks of the regular season, the Blue Jackets are gunning for a wild card spot. They have an outside crack at WC1, and those odds could jump if things go Columbus' way this evening.
Today's stress ball: Ron Hainsey is too old for Jayce Hawryluk's shit.
