They’re not entirely out of it yet.
Facing the prospect of elimination from the playoff race in the NHL’s Eastern Conference on Thursday at Nationwide Arena, the Blue Jackets edged the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 to stave off elimination for at least one more day.
Zach Aston-Reese and Boone Jenner scored goals in the third period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead, while rookie goalie Jet Greavespicked up a win with 39 saves as an emergency recall for injured goalie Elvis Merzlikins.
Here are three takeaways:
Columbus Blue Jackets need Montreal Canadiens to stumble
The good news for the Blue Jackets is they kept their slim hopes alive and won in regulation to force the Montreal Canadiens to win in regulation Friday in Ottawa to clinch the second wild card in the Eastern Conference — the last playoff ticket.
The Blue Jackets will also be eliminated if the Canadiens’ point total, currently at 87 points with four games remaining, exceeds 89 points. There is a tiebreaker scenario at 89 points after 82 games that favors Columbus if the Blue Jackets win their remaining four games in regulation and Montreal wins only one of its last four via overtime or shootout.
The NHL’s first standings tiebreaker is regulation wins, which favor Montreal 29-26 over the Blue Jackets. The New York Rangers, who are tied with the Blue Jackets at 81 points with three games left, have 33 regulation wins and could also pull off an unlikely surge into the postseason via the same pathway.
Jet Greaves’ performance against Buffalo Sabres prompts question of whether Blue Jackets should have recalled him sooner
Since Feb. 15, Graves has posted a .949 save percentage for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters after going 2-2-2 with a 2.83 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in six starts for the Blue Jackets.
After Graves' dazzling 39-save victory over the Sabres, Jackets coach Dean Evason deferred a question about why Greaves remained in the AHL while Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov scuffled in the NHL during a stretch in March and early April that led to the team's drop out of the two wild-card positions.
“That’s a Don Waddell question,” Evason said, referring to the Blue Jackets’ president of hockey operations/general manager.
Waddell didn’t immediately reply to the same question via text message after the game, but the most likely answer is that Merzlikins and Tarasov are the Blue Jackets’ top two goalies according to their NHL one-way contracts. Greaves is also a key reason the Monsters are still in a postseason spot for the AHL’s Calder Cup playoffs.
Hisemergency recall Thursday started with a phone call in the morning that prompted a two-hour drive to Columbus. After picking up a win Wednesday in Cleveland, Greaves got the net for the Jackets and shined in his latest NHL opportunity despite allowing two goals on the Sabres’ first seven shots.He stopped the next 34 in a row, including 18 in the second period and 15 more in the third to spark thecomeback. Greaves is 3-2-2 with a 2.71 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.
Merzlikins, since posting an impressive 43-save victory over the Detroit Red Wings on March 1, is 4-7-1 with a 3.85 GAA and .878 save percentage prior to an injury that forced him to leave the Blue Jackets’ morning skate Thursday earlier than normal.
The Blue Jackets didn’t provide specifics about Merzlikins’ injury, but Greaves could be sticking around for additional action if the issue isn’t a day-to-day situation. It’s also notable that Greaves got the start over the fully rested Tarasov, who has struggled at times this season adapting to the backup role.
Columbus Blue Jackets continue to sit defenseman Damon Severson
Damon Severson hasn’t played since April 1, when the Jackets blitzed the Nashville Predators 8-4 in Columbus. That might change Saturday if Jake Christiansen,who left the game Thursday in the first period and didn’t return, isn’t healthy enough to play.
Severson, a right-handed shot, skated with Erik Gudbranson on the third defensive pairing and played his off side on the left in his last action — finishing with a minus-1 rating in 16:49 against the Predators. Since that game, lefties Jack Johnson and Christiansen skated with Gudbranson.
Christiansen replaced Johnson after the latter posted a -5 plus/minus in in three games as Severson’s replacement. Playing their ‘off’ side can be difficult for defensemen, especially in the defensive zone. Some have no issues with it. Others struggle.
Severson may be in the latter category, and that could become a problem while looking at the next six years of a contract that pays him an average annual value of $6.25 million a season.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached atbhedger@dispatch.com and@BrianHedger.bsky.social
