Game Day #82: Blue Jackets Unforgettable Season Comes To An End Thursday Night

One of the most memorable seasons in team history comes to an end Thursday night the Columbus Blue Jackets face off against the New York Islanders in game #82.

The Blue Jackets were eliminated from playoff contention Wednesday night with the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 victory of a Carolina Hurricanes team that rested their top players. 

With a different result, the Blue Jackets would have been in need of a regulation win Thursday night to earn what, at the beginning of the season, seemed all but impossible: a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Instead, the game is a chance for the Blue Jackets and what will surely be a full house at Nationwide Arena to show love and appreciation for each other in a season that started with tragedy, then morphed into one of inspiration.

Here's what else to know when the Blue Jackets end a stories 2024-25 campaign:

• JACK WILLIAMS DEBUT
  Jack Williams makes his NHL debut, three weeks after the club signed the Northeastern University captain to a two-year entry level contract. Williams had 94 points (39 goals, 55 assists) in 106 collegiate games. When the club announced the signing, President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell said Williams is a "skilled, hard-working player with a passion for the game, who was a very productive player and leader during his time at Northeastern." Waddell also added that the club thinks the 23-year-old has "great potential." He'll slot in on the fourth line, centering Sean Kuraly and Justin Danforth.
   
• MILESTONE POTENTIAL
  Boone Jenner is one goal shy of 200 for his NHL career. Sean Monahan (19 goals) and Mathieu Olivier (18) both have a chance to become the 6th (perhaps 7th) Blue Jacket to register 20 goals on the season; that would be a franchise record.
  
  Additionally, a win would give the Blue Jackets 57 points at home this season; that would tie the 2016-17 season for the most in team history. It would also mean they finish with just ten regulation losses at home. Only six teams have fewer, three of which have nine.
   
• JET IN NET
  Jet Greaves earns the start in Columbus' final game of the season. What more can be said about the NHL's First Star of the week last week? His 29-save shutout Tuesday night was his second shutout in three games and made it 119 saves on 122 shots since being recalled from the AHL's Cleveland Monsters last week. In ten total games this season with the Blue Jackets, Greaves is 6-2-2 with an incredible .934 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average. Ten games doesn't qualify Greaves for league-leader eligibility, but if it did, he would rank 1st in save percentage (Anthony Stolarz, TOR, .926) and tied for 1st in goals against average (Connor Hellebuyck, WPG).
   
• LINEUPS CHANGES & PROJECTIONS:
  Williams insertion into the lineup means a banged-up Zach Aston-Reese will come out, but no other changes are expected. Here are the projected lines: