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.
Welcome to another Columbus Blue Jackets game day and yet another Biggest Game of the Season™ for the Jackets. Columbus welcomes the Montreal Canadiens to Nationwide Arena tonight with the Eastern Conference's second wild card spot squarely on the line.
The Blue Jackets are 0–2 against the Canadiens this season, with the teams most recently meeting in February and the Habs winning 3-2 on home ice.
In other NHL action last night, the Flyers topped Toronto in a shootout to stave off elimination. Philly is just barely alive for a playoff spot, but alive nonetheless.
Here's where we stand on Thursday, March 28.
| GP | GR | W | L | OT | PTS | ROW | STRK | L10 | Make Playoffs [#] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| METROPOLITAN | ||||||||||
| WASHINGTON CAPITALS | 77 | 5 | 45 | 24 | 8 | 98 | 41 | W2 | 6–3–1 | 99.97% (-0.01) |
| PITTSBURGH PENGUINS | 77 | 5 | 42 | 24 | 11 | 95 | 40 | W3 | 6–2–2 | 99.62% (+0.01) |
| NY ISLANDERS | 77 | 5 | 44 | 26 | 7 | 95 | 40 | L1 | 5–5–0 | 99.41% (-0.06) |
| ATLANTIC | ||||||||||
| (p) TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING | 77 | 5 | 59 | 14 | 4 | 122 | 53 | W1 | 8–2–0 | 100% (NC) |
| (x) BOSTON BRUINS | 77 | 5 | 47 | 21 | 9 | 103 | 45 | W1 | 6–4–0 | 100% (NC) |
| TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS | 77 | 5 | 45 | 25 | 7 | 97 | 45 | OT1 | 4–4–2 | 99.97% (+0.03) |
| WILD CARD | ||||||||||
| CAROLINA HURRICANES | 76 | 6 | 42 | 27 | 7 | 91 | 40 | L1 | 6–4–0 | 93.01% (+0.65) |
| MONTREAL CANADIENS | 77 | 5 | 41 | 28 | 8 | 90 | 39 | W1 | 5–4–1 | 56.38% (-1.08) |
| COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS | 76 | 6 | 42 | 30 | 4 | 88 | 41 | W2 | 5–4–1 | 51.65% (+0.34) |
| PHILADELPHIA FLYERS | 77 | 5 | 37 | 32 | 8 | 82 | 34 | W1 | 5–5–0 | 0.00% (NC) |
p - Clinched President's Trophy; x - Clinched Playoff Spot
It's simple: A Blue Jackets win puts the team in the driver's seat for WC2, while a loss to Montreal would leave them four points out of the spot with five to play. Not insurmountable, but not necessarily a position you'd like to be in, either.
Tonight's Game(s) of Interest
| Home | Away | Who to Cheer for |
|---|---|---|
| COLUMBUS (42–30–4, 88p) | MONTREAL (41–28–8, 90p) | The boys in blue. |
| CAROLINA (42–27–7, 80p) | WASHINGTON (45–24–8, 98p) | Capitals. Jackets still have a shot at WC1. |
| WINNIPEG (45–27–4, 94p) | NY ISLANDERS (44–26–7, 95p) | Winnipeg because you always want WC topping EC teams this late. |
The Jackets have to win. We've covered that. Beyond their game, they can get some help from the Capitals, visiting Carolina. If the Caps can win their third game in a row, and the Blue Jackets take care of business against Montreal, the CBJ will wake up one point out of WC1, which would be huge, to say the least.
Blue Jackets Playoff Odds
| Make It In | 2nd Rnd | Conf. Finals | SC Finals | Win SC | Win Metro | 2nd Metro | 3rd Metro | WC1 | WC2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
51.65% +0.34 |
20.2% NC |
9.4% NC |
4.4% NC |
1.9% NC |
0% NC |
0.4% +0.1 |
2.8% NC |
13.6% -0.3 |
34.8% +0.6 |
Odds courtesy of MoneyPuck.com
With only one game – Toronto at Philadelphia – having any affect on the Eastern Conference playoff race last night, the CBJ's playoff odds remained fairly static across the board. If they can beat Montreal tonight, expect to see the numbers jump.
Today's stress ball: John Tavares gives the Flyers the gift of hope.
