Scorching-hot Habs look to squash Blue Jackets’ playoff hopes
The free-falling Columbus Blue Jackets face a tall task to keep their playoff dreams alive during a road date with the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
Columbus' hiring of coach Rick Bowness on Jan. 12 provided immediate dividends for the squad that was sitting in the bottom spot of the Metropolitan Division at the time.
While the veteran coach led them to an 18-2-4 record through his first 24 games in charge, the wheels appear to have fallen off with the Blue Jackets posting a 2-7-1 record over their previous 10 outings.
Columbus (39-28-12, 90 points) trails the Philadelphia Flyers by two points for third place in the Metropolitan Division with both teams heading into the last weekend of the regular season with three games remaining.
The New York Islanders (91 points with three games remaining) also are ahead of the Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan chase while the two Eastern Conference wild-card spots are essentially out of reach thanks to the Boston Bruins (96 points) and Ottawa Senators (94 points).
The Blue Jackets' latest disappointment? Despite winning the shots battle 37-24 on Thursday night, Columbus was blanked 5-0 on the road by the Buffalo Sabres.
Colten Ellis, a 25-year-old rookie, recorded his first shutout at the Jackets' expense while Jet Greaves totaled 19 saves for Columbus.
"Good," Bowness said. "We play like that again on Saturday, we'll be fine. Their goalie stole the game for them tonight. That was all us in the second period, hit a couple goalposts. You get that many chances, you think the puck's gonna go in. It didn't go in for us tonight."
"It's disappointing when you don't get rewarded for, especially the first two periods of work we put in," Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner said. "We put our heart and soul into that game and it's disappointing not getting the reward. But, we're still in it and we gotta find a way to bear down and bring one Saturday for us."
Saturday's opponent won't make things any easier as the postseason-bound Canadiens (47-22-10, 104 points) charge into the matchup with 10 wins over their previous 11 games.
Montreal's 2-1 home victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, which could prove to be crucial in locking up home-ice advantage in the postseason, also brought with it a pair of goalscoring milestones.
Cole Caufield became the seventh player in Montreal's illustrious history to score 50 goals in a season, while Juraj Slafkovsky reached the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his young career with the late game-winner.
"It was cool to have my dad in the building, and to see his reaction was pretty special and it means a lot," Caufield said of his historic goal. "But it's obviously a huge win for us and I think one that I will always remember."
Caufield opened the scoring for the Canadiens with his second-period goal. After the Lightning found an equalizer, Slafkovsky swiftly answered 47 seconds after as he buried the game-winning tally with just 1:04 remaining in the third.
"It's fun that Cole got his 50th, Slaf got his 30th. They're big goals, and a lot of goals," said Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis, who seven times crossed the 30-goal mark throughout his playing career. "But I loved the way we carried ourselves. Together, but in control, too."
Montreal heads into Saturday's action two points clear of the Lightning for second in the Atlantic Division and trail the Sabres by two points for the top spot.