The Chase: Blue Jackets Back in Top Wild Card Spot, but Opponents Close Behind

By Chris Pennington on March 9, 2020 at 11:45 am
The Columbus Blue Jackets celebrate the win against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period at Rogers Arena.
Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
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The Chase is your morning report on where the Columbus Blue Jackets stand in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs race. What happened, what's next, and who to cheer for.

The Blue Jackets are in a playoff spot at this very moment. But in 48 hours, without even playing a game, they might not be.

Thanks to a tight 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday, the boys in blue have propelled themselves back into the playoffs (which they were bumped out of for a matter of hours after a Carolina Hurricanes victory). They currently hold the top wild card spot, but do not play until Thursday, meaning it could be ripped right back out of their hands by the time they touch the ice again. 

Here's where we stand on Monday, March 9.

  GP GR W L OT PTS RW ROW STRK L10 Make Playoffs [#]
METROPOLITAN
WASHINGTON CAPITALS 68 14 41 20 7 89 31 37 W1 4-4-2 99.93%
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS 68 14 41 20 7 89 31 36 W9 9-1-0 99.95%
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS 68 14 39 23 6 84 28 36 L2 2-8-0 90.70%
ATLANTIC
BOSTON BRUINS 69 13 43 14 12 98 37 43 L1 7-3-0 100.00%
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 69 13 43 20 6 92 35 41 OT1 4-5-1 100.00%
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS 69 13 35 25 9 79 27 34 L1 4-5-1 78.30%
 WILD CARD
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS 70 12 33 22 15 81 25 33 W1 3-4-3 51.70%
CAROLINA HURRICANES 67 15 37 25 5 79 26 32 W2 4-4-2 82.60%
NEW YORK ISLANDERS 67 15 35 23 9 79 24 32 OT1 2-5-3 47.00%
NEW YORK RANGERS 68 14 36 28 4 76 30 25 L1 6-4-0 14.30%
FLORIDA PANTHERS 68 14 34 26 8 76 29 31 W1 4-4-2 33.80%

p - Clinched President's Trophy; x - Clinched Playoff Spot

Yesterday, the Hurricanes beat the breaks off the Pittsburgh Penguins (who have now lost eight of their last ten games). As much as we love seeing that black and yellow team get pummeled, though, Carolina winning was not good for Columbus.

The Islanders and Hurricanes are just two points back from the Blue Jackets, hold the tiebreaker, and have two fewer games played. Both teams play on Wednesday night, meaning Blue Jackets fans could wake up Wednesday morning again out of the postseason.

They'd have a chance to rectify that again Thursday night, but let's just take it one step at a time. There's a few games tonight that hold some weight that we should pay attention to.

Tonight's Game(s) of Interest

Home Away Who to Cheer for
BUFFALO (29–31–8, 66p) WASHINGTON (41–20–7, 89p) The Sabres. The Capitals are pretty far ahead of the Blue Jackets at this point, and can't be caught by Columbus, but no hurt comes from Washington losing.
ST. LOUIS (41-18-10, 92p) FLORIDA (34-26-8, 76p) The Blues. This game holds a bit more value than the one above, as the Panthers still have a shot at overtaking the Blue Jackets for a playoff spot.

Blue Jackets Playoff Odds

Make It In 2nd Rnd Conf. Finals SC Finals Win SC Win Metro 2nd Metro 3rd Metro WC1 WC2
51.70% 22.30% 10.10% 4.90% 2.50% 0.0% 0.40% 6.50% 17.90% 26.80%

Odds courtesy of MoneyPuck.com

12 games to go, folks. The Blue Jackets only face one non-playoff contending team in this final stretch. If they get in, they certainly have earned it.


Today's stress ball: These are always good for a Monday.

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