The Blue Jackets aren’t ready to talk about the playoffs just yet, but they now control their own destiny after a 6-3 victory over the New York Rangers on March 19 at Nationwide Arena.
Their third straight win to extend a season-high points streak to 11 straight games, combined with the New York Islander’s loss at the Ottawa Senators, moved Columbus from just outside the playoff bubble into third place of the Metropolitan Division.
They have 14 games left, a huge number in a tight race within the Eastern Conference, but things are looking good for the Blue Jackets (36-21-11). Statistics-based simulation models on MoneyPuck and The Athletic give them a strong percentage chance to qualify for the NHL’s postseason for first time since 2020, while betting odds also favor their viability.
“It feels good,” Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said. “We still have a lot of work to do. It’s a battle. It’s tight right there in the race, so it definitely feels good seeing it with all the work we’ve put in, but there’s still a lot more to go.”
Percentage for Columbus Blue Jackets playoff qualification
According to MoneyPuck, an NHL prediction site, the Blue Jackets improved their chances of making the playoffs to 76.2% as of 11:39 p.m. ET on March 20. Moving into third place of the Metro also boosted the Jackets’s chance of advancing to the second round of the playoffs to 40.3%, according to MoneyPuck, which derives its percentages by running simulations of the remaining NHL schedule 100,000 times.
The Athletic runs its daily remaining NHL schedule simulations 50,000 times and gives the Blue Jackets an even stronger 86% chance to qualify for the postseason. MoneyPuck also projects the Blue Jackets to finish with 99.1 points, while The Athletic projects 99.5 points.
Each site gives Columbus a 4% chance of winning the Stanley Cup.
Columbus Blue Jackets playoff betting odds
The Blue Jackets boosted their favorite status to make the playoffs, bolstering their odds on DraftKings, which gives Columbus -425 odds to make it and +330 to miss.
FanDuel and BetMGM did not list playoff qualification futures at the time this was reported, but FanDuel gives the Blue Jackets its third-best odds to win the Metropolitan Division at +5,000 and BetMGM gives Columbus its seventh-best odds (+1,900) to win the Eastern Conference.
Columbus Blue Jackets remaining schedule
The Blue Jackets still have four games remaining against teams they’re currently racing for the last three or four playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
Columbus plays at the Islanders on March 22 to finish a back-to-back that starts March 21 against the Seattle Kraken at Nationwide Arena. The Jackets also have home games March 29 and April 12 against the Boston Bruins, who hold the East’s top wild-card spot by a tiebreaker over the Detroit Red Wings.
The Blue Jackets also play the Red Wings on April 7 in Detroit. Here’s a look at how things are going in their final 20 games:
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets playoff tracker: Odds to qualify look good
Reporting by Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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