The Columbus Blue Jackets are playing out the string, so to speak, but the same cannot be said for their final seven opponents.
They host the New York Islanders tonight, who are battling with Saturday's opponent, the Philadelphia Flyers, for a final playoff berth. On Sunday, they head to Carolina, to face off against the Presidents' Trophy-candidate Hurricanes. Next week is no easier, with a road trip south to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Nashville Predators, before finishing at home on the final game of the season against the Hurricanes - again.
Put another way, the seven teams are either squarely in - or fighting for - a playoff berth. The below screenshot, from The Athletic, visually show the odds of each team's playoff and standings projection. If you keep looking down (no, keep going), you'll see the Blue Jackets are a half a world away from these teams.
The silver lining to this is small, but it's true that some young players - Cole Sillinger, Dimitri Voronkov, Daniil Tarasov, David Jiricek, etc. - really stand to benefit from these games. It's a shame that players like Yegor Chinakhov, Adam Fantilli, etc. are absent from this opportunity to go up against quality competition and teams that are ramping up for the second season. Such an opportunity cannot be lost on the coaching staff, who have to be impressed by recent play of said young players in wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche, who fall squarely in the same category as these other teams.
Ultimately, these games mean nothing in the standings. But for young players looking to take the next step in the NHL, facing off against battle-ready teams should be a good learning experience.
