The Chase is your morning report on where the Blue Jackets stand in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs race. What happened, what's next, and who to cheer for.
Good morning and welcome to The Chase, where we are grumpy as hell today on the heels of the Blue Jackets getting blown out in their final regular season home game. The Bruins got a fluke early goal and piled on from there on the way to a 6-2 win at Nationwide Arena.
Compounding matters, the Hurricanes won big in Toronto, and the Canadiens topped the Lightning in Montreal, bumping the Jackets into the second wild card spot with the Habs right on their heels. Everything that could have gone wrong for the CBJ did, all in one night.
Here's where we stand on Wednesday, April 3.
| GP | GR | W | L | OT | PTS | ROW | STRK | L10 | Make Playoffs [#] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| METROPOLITAN | ||||||||||
| (x) WASHINGTON CAPITALS | 80 | 2 | 47 | 25 | 8 | 102 | 43 | L1 | 6–3–1 | 100% (NC) |
| (x) NY ISLANDERS | 80 | 2 | 46 | 27 | 7 | 99 | 42 | L1 | 5–5–0 | 100% (NC) |
| PITTSBURGH PENGUINS | 80 | 2 | 43 | 26 | 11 | 97 | 41 | L1 | 5–3–2 | 98.74% (-1.00) |
| ATLANTIC | ||||||||||
| (p) TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING | 80 | 2 | 60 | 16 | 4 | 124 | 54 | L1 | 7–3–0 | 100% (NC) |
| (x) BOSTON BRUINS | 80 | 2 | 48 | 23 | 9 | 105 | 46 | W1 | 6–4–0 | 100% (NC) |
| (x) TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS | 80 | 2 | 46 | 27 | 7 | 99 | 46 | L1 | 4–4–2 | 100% (NC) |
| WILD CARD | ||||||||||
| CAROLINA HURRICANES | 80 | 2 | 44 | 29 | 7 | 95 | 42 | W1 | 6–4–0 | 87.44% (+9.43) |
| COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS | 80 | 2 | 45 | 31 | 4 | 94 | 44 | L1 | 6–3–1 | 69.18% (-23.19) |
| MONTREAL CANADIENS | 80 | 2 | 43 | 29 | 8 | 94 | 41 | W2 | 6–3–1 | 44.64% (+14.75) |
p - Clinched President's Trophy; x - Clinched Playoff Spot
The Jackets entered Tuesday night's game with the Bruins with a chance to clinch a playoff spot. Instead, they fell back into the second wild card spot with Carolina's win in Toronto. And we all know what that spot means: a first round date with the Death Star that is the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Meanwhile, the Bruins secured home ice in the first round against the Maple Leafs with their Tuesday night win in Columbus.
The Blue Jackets are in a tie with the Montreal Canadiens, but own the tie-breaker, thanks to a hefty ROW advantage. Important: Their ROW advantage only comes into play if there's a tie. If the Canadiens win out, and the Blue Jackets drop one of their two remaining games (@ NYR, @ OTT), ROW doesn't matter. The Jackets are this close to missing the playoffs.
In other clinching news from Tuesday night, the Ottawa Senators secured the worst record in the league with the Kings' 3-1 win over Arizona.
Tonight's Game(s) of Interest
The NHL features just three games tonight, and none of them have an impact on the playoff race in the Eastern Conference. Thursday night, on the other hand, sees the Islanders at Florida, the Pens hosting Detroit, and Montreal at Washington, Carolina hosting the Devils. It's a big night ahead of the Blue Jackets game in New York Friday night.
Blue Jackets Playoff Odds
| Make It In | 2nd Rnd | Conf. Finals | SC Finals | Win SC | Win Metro | 2nd Metro | 3rd Metro | WC1 | WC2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
69.18% -23.19 |
29.1% -11.9 |
14.7% -6.1 |
6.7% -2.2 |
3.1% -1.0 |
0% NC |
0% -1.5 |
2.6% -8.3 |
24.8% -28.3 |
41.7% +14.7 |
Odds courtesy of MoneyPuck.com
As you'd imagine, the Blue Jackets' playoff odds took a hit across the board, according to Money Puck's model. Columbus has two games remaining to make a move.
Today's stress ball: Nathan MacKinnon gets his 40th of the year on a beaut.
