Blue Jackets awaken offensively, stave off playoff elimination by beating Ottawa

New York Times

09-04-2025

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It doesn't look good, and everybody knows it. The Columbus Blue Jackets would need a miracle over the final five games and nine days of the regular season to jump four teams and claim the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
But 'doesn't look good' is not the same as 'mathematically eliminated.'
Advertisement
The Blue Jackets awakened offensively and snapped an ill-timed three-game losing streak by beating the Ottawa Senators 5-2 on Tuesday before 15,188 in Nationwide Arena. If the Jackets had lost in regulation, they would have been playing out the string the rest of the way.
'We used different words in the locker room, but, basically, (we wanted) to play with great confidence,' Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. 'Have some bite. Play with an edge. We're good, too. I think we've lost that a little bit.
'We've gone over our last couple of games and while we didn't play poorly, we didn't play with that bite, that extra edge that we had tonight. We have to play like that the rest of the way. We have a chance. You guys know the numbers better than I do, and we'll talk about it tomorrow. But we're not mathematically eliminated, so we're going to play freakin' hard every night.'
Dmitri Voronkov, Justin Danforth, Mathieu Olivier, Sean Monahan and Adam Fantilli scored for the Blue Jackets, who had been shut out in their previous two games, including once by these Senators. Kent Johnson added two assists while goaltender Elvis Merzlikins had 33 saves.
A BIG SHOT FROM BIG BOSS GETS US STARTED💥@FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/MTHQmV83Lt
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) April 8, 2025
Voronkov's goal was big on two fronts.
It was the big Russian's first goal in 16 games — his longest scoring drought of the season — and it put the Blue Jackets ahead 1-0 only 7:00 into the game. Voronkov's last goal came on March 1, when the Jackets beat the Detroit Red Wings in the outdoor game at Ohio Stadium for the high-water mark of the season.
The goal ended a run for 14 consecutive goals against the Blue Jackets (dating back to an April 3 game vs. Colorado), and snapped their scoring drought at 159 minutes, 4 seconds.
Advertisement
'We're a desperate team right now and it showed early on,' Danforth said. 'For us, getting first goals is big for our confidence. We played a bit mean, played with a bit of swagger. Everybody played great up and down the lineup. We got one and we got rolling.'
While the Blue Jackets were pulling away from Ottawa — a goal late in the second (Olivier) and a power-play goal early in the third (Monahan) made it 4-1 — the Montreal Canadiens were taking care of business at home against the Detroit Red Wings.
For weeks now, the battle for the final wild-card spot has been more like a potato-sack race than a sprint to the postseason. But the Canadiens, who have won six straight, have taken charge to put their grip on the final playoff spot.
A regulation loss by the Blue Jackets on Tuesday would have ended it. But any combination of a Blue Jackets regulation loss or a Canadiens win — Columbus hosts Buffalo on Thursday, while Montreal plays at Ottawa on Friday — would pull the plug.
That's just their situation with Montreal. The Jackets would also need to pass the Red Wings, the New York Rangers, and the New York Islanders in the standings.
'We know the situation we're in,' Fantilli said. 'We see the standings. We still have to give ourselves the best chance to get in. We've put ourselves in a tough position, but our goal is to win out the rest of the season.'
TAP TAP TAP TAP AROO 🚨@FanaticsBook | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/YIvG6oI4bY
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) April 9, 2025
Evason said he and the coaching staff have noticed a tendency in recent weeks, and not a good one. The Blue Jackets, he noted, have been wading into games physically. That is, they've been responding to physical play, but not dictating it themselves.
That was not the case on Tuesday. There were greasy hits, hard checks and post-whistle scrums for most of the final two periods, with Sean Kuraly, Olivier, Monahan, Erik Gudbranson and others providing much of the spark.
Advertisement
'It was a bit of a chippy game, and that got us engaged,' Evason said. 'We talked to the team after the game that we need to do that on a consistent basis, not have something happen in order for us to get (there). I think we started that way (tonight). We had some bite in our game right from the start.'
After Tuesday's slate of games, the Sabres were eliminated from the playoffs despite a shutout win over Carolina. The team directly above Buffalo in the standings is the Blue Jackets, but they're not looking over their shoulder, the players said.
'We can't lose. We just have to play like we can't lose,' Olivier said. 'Until there's an 'E' or an 'X' next to our name … as soon as that's decided, we have to play like we have a chance. Tonight was a good first step.'
(Photo of Elvis Merzlikins and Tim Stützle: Russell LaBounty / Imagn Images)