Still in it.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are still alive in the race for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout on Monday night.
After Montreal scored two first period goals to go up 2-0, the Blackhawks scored three unanswered and had a 3-2 lead with less than three minutes left in regulation before the Canadiens tied the game on a Juraj Slafkovsky power play goal with 2:57 left. That sent the game into overtime and eventually a shootout, which was won 1-0 by the Blackhawks.
The overtime loss puts the Canadiens at 89 points on the season with one game left. That game is Wednesday night in Montreal against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Columbus is at 85 with two points left. To qualify for the playoffs, they will need to win both of their final two games in regulation.
That would put both teams at 89 points but give Columbus a 30-29 edge in regulation wins, which is the first tiebreaker. The Blue Jackets would not have the second tiebreaker of regulation + overtime wins, which is why both games will need to be regulation wins.
Columbus is in Philadelphia against the Flyers on Tuesday night.
Puck-drop is set for 7 p.m.
