The Blue Jackets look like a playoff team, sound like a playoff team and now play with the confidence of a Stanley Cup contender.
They’ve shown it while going 6-0-4 during a season-long 10-game points streak, including a 5-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on March 17 at Nationwide Arena, and it feels like the Blue Jackets (35-21-11) have officially put the NHL on notice.
“We know we’re a playoff team,” forward Mathieu Olivier said, shaking his head in disbelief that they’re still outside the bubble. “This Eastern Conference situation is making it as hard as anybody will have it. As I understand it, the line to make the playoffs is going to be probably one of the highest in history. So, it just comes back to our job, to keep winning and keep stringing these games (together).”
That’s all they can do.
The four teams clinging to postseason spots just ahead of them keep holding off the surging Jackets, whom analytic site MoneyPuck gives a 70.1% chance of making it with 15 games left. That site also predicts the East’s postseason cutoff to be 97 points, which would be six higher than last season.
“The way we’re playing, our process right now is really good, so that’s a good thing,” Olivier said. “There’s some nights we might not get the results, but the way we’re playing is really good for our group right now.”
The good news for the Blue Jackets is they have a few games left against two teams they’re chasing, the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders. The Bruins (82 points) avoided giving up the East’s first wild card by adding an overtime point March 17 in Montreal, while the Islanders (83 points) won in Toronto to stay two points ahead for third in the Metropolitan Division.
The Blue Jackets also trail the Detroit Red Wings by one point for the second wild card and need three points to pass the Pittsburgh Penguins for second in the division. All four teams, however, continue to win or tack on points in overtime/shootouts at the same time the Blue Jackets are doing the same things.
It might go right to the end again, similar to last season’s race in the East that left Columbus two points short.
“This is a very confident group,” Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness said. “There’s great leadership in that (locker) room. The confidence comes from knowing how good we can be, and that when we’re on top of our game, we can beat anybody.”
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 are playing like a playoff team but face a tough road
Reporting by Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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