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.
For the first time since March 16, the Columbus Blue Jackets own the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Backed by another spectacular showing from goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, the Jackets blanked the Sabres in Buffalo Sunday night, 4-0, to match the a season-high five-game winning streak.
Bobrovsky is now 5–0 in his last five starts, with a .971 save percentage and a ridiculous 0.80 goals against average. And he's getting plenty of support. The Jackets have outscored those five opponents 24-4.
ROLL. DAMN. JACKETS.
Here's where we stand on Monday, April 1.
| GP | GR | W | L | OT | PTS | ROW | STRK | L10 | Make Playoffs [#] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| METROPOLITAN | ||||||||||
| (x) WASHINGTON CAPITALS | 79 | 3 | 47 | 24 | 8 | 102 | 43 | W4 | 6–3–1 | 100% (NC) |
| (x) NY ISLANDERS | 79 | 3 | 46 | 26 | 7 | 99 | 42 | W2 | 6–4–0 | 100% (NC) |
| PITTSBURGH PENGUINS | 79 | 3 | 43 | 25 | 11 | 97 | 41 | W1 | 6–2–2 | 99.69% (+1.39) |
| ATLANTIC | ||||||||||
| (p) TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING | 78 | 4 | 59 | 15 | 4 | 122 | 53 | L1 | 8–2–0 | 100% (NC) |
| (x) BOSTON BRUINS | 78 | 4 | 47 | 22 | 9 | 103 | 45 | L1 | 5–5–0 | 100% (NC) |
| TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS | 78 | 4 | 45 | 26 | 7 | 97 | 45 | L1 | 3–5–2 | 99.79% (+0.02) |
| WILD CARD | ||||||||||
| COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS | 79 | 3 | 45 | 30 | 4 | 94 | 44 | W5 | 7–2–1 | 91.96% (+12.13) |
| CAROLINA HURRICANES | 79 | 3 | 43 | 29 | 7 | 93 | 41 | L1 | 5–5–0 | 77.30% (-10.54) |
| MONTREAL CANADIENS | 79 | 3 | 42 | 29 | 8 | 92 | 40 | W1 | 6–3–1 | 31.26% (-3.01) |
p - Clinched President's Trophy; x - Clinched Playoff Spot
Carolina's 3-1 loss at Pittsburgh saw the Blue Jackets leap the Hurricanes into WC1 with 94 points, one ahead of the Canes. The Jackets have a three-point ROW advantage over the Hurricanes. At 44, the Blue Jackets currently have the highest ROW of any team in the Metropolitan Division. This is important as it's the first tie-breaker if two teams finish with the same points.
Carolina ends the season @ TOR, vs. NJD, @ PHI. Not a brutal schedule by any stretch, but the game in Toronto will be a challenge for the Canes.
With three games to play, Columbus should now be thinking about trying to get out of wild card position altogether. The Blue Jackets are three points back of Pittsburgh for third in the Metro, and five points behind the Islanders for second in the division.
If the Blue Jackets win out, they can pass either of those teams if:
- The Hurricanes get one point or fewer in their final three games (vs. TOR, @ FLA, @ WSH)
- The Penguins earn three points or fewer in their final three games (@ DET, vs. DET, vs. NYR)
Tonight's Game(s) of Interest
| Home | Away | Who to Cheer for |
|---|---|---|
| NY ISLANDERS (46–26–7, 99p) | TORONTO (45–26–7, 97p) | Maple Leafs. Metro 3 is in play (and Metro 2, technically)! |
| FLORIDA (31–37–10, 72p) | WASHINGTON (47–24–8, 102p) | NHL Player Safety to suspend Tom Wilson for 20 games. |
At this point, we're #TeamBeatTheIslesPensCanesHabs, so we're all Leafs fans tonight. Toronto is just 3–5–2 in their last 10, and they need a win.
Washington at Florida doesn't mean a ton right now. Sure, the Jackets have played the Caps well this season and maybe you want them to slid to the No. 2 spot for the matchup if the CBJ can get into the three spot, but that would mean cheering on the Islanders and while there's a glimmer of hope for home ice in the first round, you have to cheer for that.
Blue Jackets Playoff Odds
| Make It In | 2nd Rnd | Conf. Finals | SC Finals | Win SC | Win Metro | 2nd Metro | 3rd Metro | WC1 | WC2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
91.96% +12.13 |
46% +9.5 |
23.5% +5.4 |
10.3% +1.9 |
4.6% +0.8 |
0% NC |
0.7% +0.2 |
9.5% +1.9 |
54.9% +21.8 |
26.9% -11.8 |
Odds courtesy of MoneyPuck.com
Look at that green!
Ten days ago, The Chase was in the dumps. The Blue Jackets had just been schooled by the Edmonton Oilers and Money Puck's model had the team at 48.77% chance of making it into the postseason. Five games later, and the team is sitting at 91.96% and thinking about bigger things.
Today's stress ball: Oliver Bjorkstrand brings the high heat (and scoring his seventh goal in seven games).
