Blue Jackets eliminated
The Columbus Blue Jackets were eliminated from playoff contention after the Philadelphia Flyers forced Carolina into overtime, ending Columbus’s season. ( )
Columbus was knocked out of the National Hockey League playoff race on April 13, when Philadelphia took Carolina to overtime and guaranteed itself a standings point. (nhl.com) The Blue Jackets finished 40-30-12 for 92 points, while the Flyers ended 43-27-12 for 98 points and claimed the Metropolitan Division’s third playoff spot. Washington also finished ahead of Columbus at 95 points. (espn.com) The math turned on the National Hockey League’s points system: teams get two points for a win and one for an overtime or shootout loss, so Philadelphia only needed the game against Carolina to reach overtime. The Flyers got that point in a 3-2 shootout win over the Hurricanes. (nhl.com) Columbus had kept itself alive two days earlier with a 5-2 win at Montreal on April 11. Charlie Coyle scored twice that night as the Blue Jackets improved to 40-28-12 and stayed within reach entering the final weekend. (nhl.com) The elimination closed a sixth straight season without a Stanley Cup Playoffs berth for Columbus. The franchise last reached the postseason in 2020, when it beat Toronto in the qualifying round before losing to Tampa Bay in the first round. (nhl.com) The Blue Jackets had been in second place in the Metropolitan Division as late as March 25 after a 7-1-3 run over 11 games. They then went 2-7-1 over the next 10 and fell out of position. (nhl.com) Injuries hit during that slide. Defenseman Damon Severson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury on March 26, and forwards Dmitri Voronkov and Mathieu Olivier also missed time after late-March upper-body injuries. (nhl.com) Columbus also ran short on scoring at the finish. National Hockey League.com said the Blue Jackets averaged 3.31 goals per game from Jan. 1 through March 31, then averaged 2.0 goals per game over their next six games. (nhl.com) The season ended April 14 with a 2-1 home loss to Washington at Nationwide Arena. Boone Jenner scored for Columbus, which closed the year on a two-game losing streak after the playoff race had already been decided. (nhl.com)
