One of the biggest games of the season for the Blue Jackets took place not in Columbus but in Montreal on Wednesday night, and it didn’t include the Union Blue.
The Blue Jackets needed Montreal to lose its final game vs. Carolina to have a shot to earn a Stanley Cup Playoffs berth, but rather than have any control over their fate, they were left as mere observers. And what they watched wasn’t what they wanted to see, as the Habs punched their ticket – and ended the Jackets’ chances – with a 4-2 victory.
That takes away some of the importance from tonight’s CBJ season finale against the Islanders, but it’s still a chance to end what has been one of the most surprising and in many ways inspiring seasons in Blue Jackets history on a high note.
Speaking Wednesday morning, when he had no idea what would transpire in the hours ahead, head coach Dean Evason was sticking to his message – no matter what happens, the Blue Jackets need to come out and play the same way in game 82.
“We're preparing the same way we've prepared for every single game this year, right?” Evason said. “I mean, you can't just flip all of a sudden and just go, ‘Well, now we're gonna do this,’ or, 'Now, we're gonna talk like that.’ We talk about consistency all the time with our team, and we want to be as consistent as we can.
"We're no different as a coaching staff. We want to have the same message that we've had all year that we get prepared to play. You're ready to go when the puck's dropped, and we have no doubt that our team will do that tomorrow night.”
And if there’s any solace for the Blue Jackets, it’s that they have stuck to their plan and kept putting in the work down the stretch. Things looked dire a week and a half ago when consecutive losses in Toronto and Ottawa dropped the Blue Jackets to 4-11-1 in their last 16 games and on the brink of elimination, but Columbus put together a five-game winning streak that allowed them to defy the odds and stay in the mix for a playoff spot.
“We were doing some really good things and not getting results,” defenseman Erik Gudbranson said. “It’s pretty obvious, but there was a lot of hard hockey that we played, playing the right way, staying on the D side, and it just didn’t work out. But we didn’t change a thing. We just kept coming to the rink, same plan, same determination, same belief, and it turned around.
“Is there something I could put my finger on to explain it? Probably not. But it’s just the way she goes. You look inside the room and inside the character of the room, we obviously decided to stick with our plan and kept the work ethic going, kept the belief going, and that made the difference.”
The Blue Jackets will fall short of their ultimate goal, but they have one more chance to play together and in front of their fans at Nationwide Arena tonight.
Know The Foe: New York Islanders
Head coach: Patrick Roy (Second season)
Team stats: Goals per game: 2.73 (27th) | Scoring defense: 3.10 (19th) | PP: 12.6 percent (31st) | PK: 72.2 percent (31st)
The narrative: The Islanders’ push for a third straight Stanley Cup Playoffs berth and sixth in seven years petered out down the stretch, and where they go from here will bear watching. A franchise that made the NHL’s final four in 2020 and ‘21 famously has valued continuity, but New York traded longtime stalwart Brock Nelson to Colorado at the deadline for prospect Calum Ritchie and a first-round pick. General manager Lou Lamoriello has talked about getting younger and retooling the roster in the offseason, so it could be an interesting time on Long Island.
Team leaders: Bo Horvat tops the team with 57 points on the season with totals of 28 goals and 29 assists, while Andres Lee – the team’s 34-year-old captain – has a team-best 29 goals among his 54 points. Kyle Palmieri adds a 24-24-48 line, Simon Holmstrom has 20 goals and Noah Dobson leads the defense with 10 goals and 39 points.
With longtime CBJ nemesis Semyon Varlamov on injured reserve, Ilya Sorokin has carried the mail with 60 starts, a 30-24-6 record, 2.71 GAA and .907 save percentage.
What's new: The Islanders have missed standout forward Mat Barzal (limited to 30 games with a lower body injury) for much of the season, traded Nelson (20-23-43) at the deadline and are also without former CBJ forward Anthony Duclair, and their playoff hopes have fallen apart down the stretch. New York was in the race when these two teams met on Long Island in late March, but the team is just 3-6-4 in its last 13 games and been outscored 51-36 in that span.
Trending: Columbus’ shootout win March 24 was its first-ever victory in seven tries at UBS Arena and improved the Blue Jackets to 2-1-0 in the season series. The Blue Jackets won the previous meeting in Nationwide Arena by a 2-0 score Oct. 30.
Former CBJ: Duclair posted a 7-4-11 line in 44 games before taking a leave of absence after critical comments from Roy, while Adam Boqvist was claimed on waivers midway through the season and has two goals and eight points in 16 games. Liam Foudy played two games with the team earlier this year before being returned to the AHL.
