The Chase is your morning report on where the Blue Jackets stand in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs race. What happened, what's next, and who to cheer for.
In the Eastern Conference playoffs, the top wild card spot still belongs to the Columbus Blue Jackets as of today, but based on games in play last night, that wasn't in threat to change anyway.
The boys in the blue are sitting at 81 points through 70 games, but have some Metropolitan Division opponents hot on their tail.
Here's where we stand on Tuesday, March 10.
| GP | GR | W | L | OT | PTS | RW | ROW | STRK | L10 | Make Playoffs [#] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| METROPOLITAN | |||||||||||
| WASHINGTON CAPITALS | 69 | 13 | 41 | 20 | 8 | 90 | 31 | 37 | OT1 | 4-3-3 | 99.93% |
| PHILADELPHIA FLYERS | 68 | 14 | 41 | 20 | 7 | 89 | 31 | 36 | W9 | 9-1-0 | 99.97% |
| PITTSBURGH PENGUINS | 68 | 14 | 39 | 23 | 6 | 84 | 28 | 36 | L2 | 2-8-0 | 90.20% |
| ATLANTIC | |||||||||||
| BOSTON BRUINS | 69 | 13 | 43 | 14 | 12 | 98 | 37 | 43 | L1 | 7-3-0 | 100.00% |
| TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING | 69 | 13 | 43 | 20 | 6 | 92 | 35 | 41 | OT1 | 4-5-1 | 100.00% |
| TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS | 69 | 13 | 35 | 25 | 9 | 79 | 27 | 34 | L1 | 4-5-1 | 73.60% |
| WILD CARD | |||||||||||
| COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS | 70 | 12 | 33 | 22 | 15 | 81 | 25 | 33 | W1 | 3-4-3 | 50.40% |
| CAROLINA HURRICANES | 67 | 15 | 37 | 25 | 5 | 79 | 26 | 32 | W2 | 4-4-2 | 81.60% |
| NEW YORK ISLANDERS | 67 | 15 | 35 | 23 | 9 | 79 | 24 | 32 | OT1 | 2-5-3 | 45.30% |
| FLORIDA PANTHERS | 69 | 13 | 35 | 26 | 8 | 78 | 30 | 32 | W2 | 4-4-2 | 43.40% |
| NEW YORK RANGERS | 68 | 14 | 36 | 28 | 4 | 76 | 30 | 25 | L1 | 6-4-0 | 14.40% |
p - Clinched President's Trophy; x - Clinched Playoff Spot
Last night, the Florida Panthers (surprisingly) defeated the St. Louis Blues, and the Washington Capitals (also surprisingly) lost to the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout.
The Panthers winning wasn't ideal, as they jump within three points of the Blue Jackets with one game in hand. The Capitals getting a point was at least better than them getting two, but they're so far ahead in the playoff standings anyway that it doesn't matter too much at this point.
Tonight, though, we have some games with more direct implications to the Blue Jackets current standing in the postseason.
Tonight's Game(s) of Interest
| Home | Away | Who to Cheer for |
|---|---|---|
| DETROIT (17-48-5, 39p) | CAROLINA (37–25–5, 79p) | This is a looooooong shot, but, the Red Wings. The Hurricanes have nearly double the points as their opponent tonight, but Detroit stealing this game would keep Carolina from potentially overtaking the Blue Jackets for a wild card spot. |
| VANCOUVER (35-27-6, 76p) | NY ISLANDERS (35-23-9, 79p) | Vancouver. The Islanders are right behind the Blue Jackets, and a win in regulation puts them above our boys in the playoff hunt. |
| NEW JERSEY (28-28-12, 68p) | PITTSBURGH (39-23-6, 84p) | The Devils. Pittsburgh is ahead of the Blue Jackets now, and New Jersey is way out of the race. |
| PHILADELPHIA (41-20-7, 89p) | BOSTON (43-14-12, 98p) | Boston. The Flyers are ahead of the Blue Jackets also, and the Bruins winning only affects Atlantic Division teams at this point. |
| DALLAS (37-23-8, 82p) | NY RANGERS (36-28-4, 76p) | The Stars. The Rangers are down but not out - and with a win tonight would only be three points behind Columbus, with a game in hand. |
Six Metro teams skate tonight, including the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes, certainly the two games we will all want to be paying the closest attention to. Should both teams win their respective games (even in a shootout) they will jump the Blue Jackets in the playoff hunt, leaving Columbus on the outside looking in.
This result may only last a day or so, with the Blue Jackets having a chance to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night and jumping back into their wild card spot, but it'd be nice to have a bit of a cushion from tonight, yes?
Blue Jackets Playoff Odds
| Make It In | 2nd Rnd | Conf. Finals | SC Finals | Win SC | Win Metro | 2nd Metro | 3rd Metro | WC1 | WC2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50.40% | 21.40% | 9.90% | 4.70% | 2.40% | 0.0% | 0.40% | 6.20% | 18.00% | 25.80% |
Odds courtesy of MoneyPuck.com
Today's stress ball: This is one you may not see again for a while.
