Game Day #81: Greaves Starts As Blue Jackets Face Flyers With Playoff Spot Still In Play

Another day, another chance for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Compliments of a Chicago Blackhawks upset of the Montreal Canadiens in a shootout on Monday night, the Blue Jackets enter Tuesday's contest against the Philadelphia Flyers with a chance to make things acutely interesting in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

Just one week ago, the Blue Jackets were eight points out with five games left. Their playoff odds, according to MoneyPuck, were at less than 1%.

Specifically, they got as low as 0.3%.

But three straight wins behind the incredible play of goaltender Jet Greaves and three straight losses by the Canadiens (two in overtime) have cut that lead in half, and Columbus can cut it in half again — from four points to two — by defeating the Flyers on Tuesday night.

There's an asterisk, though: the win must be in regulation, or the Blue Jackets will be eliminated. 

That won't be the only regulation finish required, should Columbus pull off 'step one' tonight. Two more steps would be required for the Blue Jackets to do what seemed impossible just a few days ago: the Canadiens must lose in regulation Wednesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, and then the Blue Jackets must win in regulation Thursday against the New York Islanders in the season finale.

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All finishes must be in regulation because the best the Blue Jackets can do is tie Montreal at 89 points. The tiebreaker is regulation wins, which Montreal currently leads 29-28. One regulation win won't get it done: if both teams end up with 29 regulation wins, the second tiebreaker is regulation + overtime wins — which the Canadiens have already clinched.

Greaves will get his fourth consecutive start after being called up from the AHL's Cleveland Monsters last week. In his three starts with Columbus last week, Greaves stopped 90 of 93 shots (.968), recorded his first NHL shutout, and became the talk of the league with his smooth play.

The 24-year-old goaltender was named the NHL's First Star of the week for his efforts.

Zach Werenski recognizes exactly what Greaves has meant to the team in the late push.

"For him to come in here and do what he's doing right now, in these important games, it's been unbelievable," said Werenski following Sunday's 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals.

As for how the season plays out, Werenski says the team knows what they have to do.

“We can only control what’s in front of us," said Werenski. “We know it’s win or go home, and everyone’s been stepping up, playing the right way."

"It’s been a lot of fun, so hopefully we can just keep this thing going.”

Here's what else to know when the Blue Jackets must win it in 60 minutes Tuesday night:

• RE: FLYERS
  Despite being eliminated from playoff contention, the Flyers continue to play hard and are looking to play the role of spoilers tonight. They're 5-1-1 in their last seven games since former Blue Jackets assistant Brad Shaw was named as interim head, replacing former Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella. ... Travis Konecny, Matvei Michkov, and Tyson Foerster are all tied for the team lead in goals, with 24 each. ... This is the home finale for the Flyers. Their season will conclude Thursday on the road against the Buffalo Sabres. ... Sam Ersson will start the game for Philadelphia. He's 22-16-15, has an .882 save percentage, and a goals against average of 3.14. He's given up three or more goals in each of his last five starts dating back to March 25th.
   
• MILESTONES GALORE
  The Blue Jackets next goal will be their 259th of the season, which will break the all-time franchise record of 258 set during the 2021-22 season. If that goal is off the stick of Boone Jenner, it will be the 200th of his career. If it's off the stick of Fantilli, it will be his 30th of the year. What if it's Sean Monahan? It would be his 20th of the season, which would make him the sixth Blue Jacket to reach that mark — a new franchise record. Mathieu Olivier, at 18 goals, is lurking in the shadows as well.
   
• IT COULD GET...WEIRD.
  If the game is tied in the final minutes, it's almost a certainty that head coach Dean Evason would opt to pull Greaves to get the extra skater on. If the game goes to overtime, the Blue Jackets are eliminated.
   
• LINEUPS CHANGES & PROJECTIONS:
  Why change what's working? There will no lineup changes according to Evason. Here are the projected lines: