The Columbus Blue Jackets begin the second half of their season in position to make the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in five seasons.
The Blue Jackets will enter their Thursday game against the visiting Seattle Kraken with 42 points and sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference wildcards thanks to a 14-11 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Seven teams below Columbus are within five points of the final playoff spot.
The Blue Jackets have not made the playoffs since the 2019-20 season, when they lost to the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the first round.
Columbus, which has won two in a row and the last nine games (6-2-1), came away with a 4-3 victory over the Penguins on Tuesday. The Blue Jackets snapped a 15-game losing streak (0-10-5) at Pittsburgh that snapped back to back wins on Nov. 13, 2015.
The Blue Jackets went 3-1 up for the third time with goals from Dmitri Voronkov and Adam Fantilli in the final eight minutes to send the game into extra time. Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko both scored as Bryan Rust and Sidney Crosby fumbled for the Penguins, and Columbus leapfrogged Pittsburgh in the wild-card race.
“Listen, this is a different team than it was 10 years ago, whatever it was,” Columbus coach Dean Evason said. “We’re a different hockey club. We play the way the Columbus Blue Jackets are playing today to win. So, what happened in the past, doesn’t mean anything. It really does.”
Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson said, “It means two points in the championship. It’s big. We were informed today that it’s been a while, a minute before the team wins here. So it’s always nice to get the monkey off our back. , but especially on the road.”
It was just the fifth win in 20 games (5-12-3) for Columbus, which has been good on home ice (13-5-3 with five wins in its last six home games). The Blue Jackets also lead the NHL with 86 home goals.
Seattle, which is looking for its first win in 2025 (0-2-1), begins a five-game road trip and has won five in a row against the Blue Jackets.
The Kraken are in seventh place in the Pacific Division and won 3-2 against the visiting New Jersey Devils on Monday. Adam Larsson and Shane Wright both scored and Philipp Grubauer made 26 saves in the loss.
“We know exactly where we are at the top,” said Seattle coach Dan Bylsma when asked about the importance of the road trip. “We’re 41 games into the season and this trip is part of that. …We have to focus on making the most of the opportunities we have.”
The Kraken started starting goalie Joey Daccord, who missed five games with a high-profile injury suffered in a game on Dec. 22 against the Colorado Avalanche, on the road. Daccord is 12-9-2 with a 2.51 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage and one shutout.
“I was able to swing every time so I felt like I lost a lot of step there,” said Daccord. “I’ve been practicing a little bit now. I’ve been on the ice this whole time. I don’t feel like I’m going to miss a beat hopefully here. You feel good.”
–Field Level Media