The Chase is your morning primer on where the Blue Jackets stand in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs race. What happened, what's next, and who to cheer for.
It might be time to panic.
The Columbus Blue Jackets lost 3-0 at Pittsburgh Thursday night – their 8th consecutive loss to the Penguins – dropping the club to 2–4 since the Feb. 25 trade deadline.
Over those six games, the Jackets have been outscored 21-10. And it's trending the wrong way. In the last four games, Columbus has been outscored 13-3 in regulation.
Not exactly what you want to see out of a team that went “all in” to make a push for the playoffs.
As bad as that sounds, the Blue Jackets are still just two points out of a wild card spot with a ROW advantage over the teams holding down WC1 and WC2, Carolina and Montreal, respectively, thanks to the Sharks topping the Canadiens in San Jose last night.
Here's where things stand on March 8, 2019.
| GP | GR | W | L | OT | PTS | ROW | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| METROPOLITAN | ||||||||
| NY ISLANDERS | 67 | 15 | 39 | 21 | 7 | 85 | 35 | 5–4–1 |
| WASHINGTON CAPITALS | 67 | 15 | 39 | 21 | 7 | 85 | 35 | 8–2–0 |
| PITTSBURGH PENGUINS | 67 | 15 | 36 | 22 | 9 | 81 | 35 | 6–2–2 |
| ATLANTIC | ||||||||
| TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING | 68 | 14 | 51 | 13 | 4 | 106 | 45 | 8–2–0 |
| BOSTON BRUINS | 67 | 15 | 41 | 17 | 9 | 91 | 39 | 9–0–1 |
| TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS | 67 | 15 | 41 | 21 | 5 | 87 | 41 | 5–3–2 |
| WILD CARD | ||||||||
| CAROLINA HURRICANES | 66 | 16 | 36 | 23 | 7 | 79 | 35 | 8–1–1 |
| MONTREAL CANADIENS | 68 | 14 | 36 | 25 | 7 | 79 | 34 | 5–5–0 |
| COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS | 67 | 15 | 37 | 27 | 3 | 77 | 36 | 4–6–0 |
| PHILADELPHIA FLYERS | 67 | 15 | 32 | 27 | 8 | 72 | 30 | 6–3–1 |
In other action last night, Boston stretched its point streak to 18 games with a wild comeback win over Florida, the Lightning were handed their first shutout loss of the season in Minnesota, and the Islanders topped Ottawa to retake the top spot in the Metro.
There are two games on tonight with any kind of relevance to the Blue Jackets' concerns.
| Home | Away | Who to Cheer for |
|---|---|---|
| WASHINGTON (39–21–7, 85p) | NEW JERSEY (25–33–9, 59p) | New Jersey's AHL team. Why not. |
| CAROLINA (36–23–7, 79p) | WINNIPEG (39–23–4, 82p) | J-E-T-S! JETS! JETS! JETS! |
Carolina, the “Bunch of Jerks” that they are, are 8–1–1 over their last 10, but a Winnipeg win tonight would do the Jackets a solid.
Today's stress ball: Let's admire some flow at the Minnesota prep level.
