Two teams looking to tighten their grasps on a playoff spot square off when the Columbus Blue Jackets visit the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
The Blue Jackets (38-22-11, 87 points) have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL since Rick Bowness replaced Dean Evason as head coach on Jan. 12. They were 19-19-7 through 45 games at the time of the change. They’ve matched that win total in the 26 games since, going 19-3-4.
That has helped vault Columbus up the standings and, following its 3-2 road victory against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, into second place in the Metropolitan Division — one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The team is also just two points ahead of the New York Islanders, who occupy the first spot outside the playoff line, and three points up on the Detroit Red Wings, who sit below the Islanders.
“We don’t need any help to get in the playoffs,” Bowness said. “We have a spot; we just have to keep it. … As long as we keep doing what we’re supposed to do and do what we can do in hockey games, the rest will take care of itself.”
Zach Werenski scored the go-ahead goal early in the second period against Philadelphia to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead, and Mason Marchment delivered early in the third before the Flyers narrowed the gap late.
Werenski is enjoying another Norris-caliber campaign with a team-high 77 points (21 goals, 56 assists) through 64 games. The defenseman is two goals, three assists and five points from matching his career highs in each category set last season. He has nine points (one goal, eight assists) in his last five games.
“He’s one of the best in the game right now,” Marchment said of Werenski. “He does so many good things every night for us. It’s pretty cool to watch.”
The Canadiens (39-21-10, 88 points) enter the contest winners of three of their past four games (3-1-0), most recently skating away with a 5-2 home victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
Montreal trailed 2-0 seven minutes into the game before cutting the deficit in half just past the midway mark of the first period. The Canadiens then scored twice in the second and added two more, including an empty-net tally, in the third.
The win marked the 24th time this season that Montreal has rallied for the two points after trailing at any time in the game. It’s tied with the Anaheim Ducks for most this season.
“I think everyone communicates well,” forward Zachary Bolduc said. “We all know what we need to do. … By communicating, we’ll all end up on the same path.”
Montreal sits third in the Atlantic Division, five points behind the second-place Tampa Bay Lightning and two points ahead of the Boston Bruins, who played the division-leading Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. Following Boston’s game, the Canadiens will have two games in hand on the Bruins.
The Canadiens have turned things around at home after a mediocre first half in which they were 10-9-1 as the hosts as of Jan. 1, near the bottom in fewest home wins in the Eastern Conference. They’re 11-4-1 since, tied for fourth-most home victories in the league that span.
