Blue Jackets’ Playoff Hopes Hinge on Perfection, Canadiens’ Stumble

COLUMBUS,⁤ Ohio – The Columbus⁢ Blue‍ Jackets are keeping their playoff aspirations alive, albeit by a ‍thread, adding pressure to the Montreal Canadiens. ‍With only two games remaining,⁤ Columbus needs ‍a flawless finish and some help from their ⁢rivals ⁣to secure a postseason ⁣berth.

Columbus followed up a 7-0 rout of⁤ the ⁤Canadiens on Saturday with‍ a 4-1 victory in Washington on Sunday. This win intensifies the pressure on montreal, who must wait to clinch their playoff spot. The Canadiens could have secured their position Monday night with a win against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Canadiens’ recent performance has done little to ease the nerves of ⁤their fans.

Prospect Missed for Montreal

Montreal ‍faltered over the weekend, securing only one point out of a possible four during their two-game ⁤road trip in ontario. A⁣ 5-2 defeat against Ottawa on Friday preceded a 1-0 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

A regulation victory ⁤against Toronto would have guaranteed‍ Montreal’s playoff entry.Instead, the single point‍ earned in the overtime loss shifts the onus ‍onto the⁤ Blue Jackets, who now require two perfect games and two Montreal losses to qualify.

Blue Jackets Walking a⁢ Tightrope

Montreal started April strong ‍with five consecutive wins but stumbled against Ottawa and Toronto. They now need to rebound⁢ quickly. The Canadiens need just one victory in their remaining ‍two games⁣ – Monday against Chicago or Wednesday against the carolina Hurricanes – to secure their ⁢playoff berth.

The Blue Jackets also have two games remaining.⁤ They‍ face the Philadelphia Flyers on ⁣Thursday ⁣and host the New York Islanders on Thursday evening.

Columbus’s path to the playoffs is narrow: they must win ‍both games in regulation time and ⁤hope Montreal loses both of theirs.

Currently, the Blue Jackets have 85 points, three behind Montreal. In the event of a tie, the first tiebreaker is regulation wins. ‍Montreal currently has 29, while Columbus has 28. The second tiebreaker is total⁣ wins in regulation and overtime, where Montreal leads 37⁤ to 32. this explains why Columbus needs to win their final games in regulation.

Playoff Anticipation

Montreal fans are eager for their team to return to the playoffs after a three-year absence.

Montreal surprisingly reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2021 and participated in the ⁢first round⁣ the season before. Though, those seasons were impacted by pandemic-related rule changes.

Montreal’s last “normal” playoff appearance was in 2017, with Brendan Gallagher being the only⁢ remaining ⁤player from that team.

Playoff qualification would be a surprise, as few predicted Montreal⁢ would be in ⁢contention this late in the season, even though management expressed hopes⁢ of⁣ remaining competitive.