Game 80: Montreal Canadiens vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: CityTV, Sportsnet East (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the Blue Jackets region: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio
Streaming: ESPN+, Sportsnet+
The Ottawa Senators closed off the Columbus Blue Jackets’ path to a wild-card spot with a win this afternoon. That leaves just the third seed in the Metropolitan Division as an option for them to make the post-season. To get there, they will need to overtake both the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers in the final three games of their season.
Even with the situation as dire as it is, Columbus hasn’t been able to respond over the last few weeks, with mounting losses putting them in such a position. They won’t finish the season on a six-game regulation winning streak like they did a year ago, as their only win in the past eight games has come in the shootout versus a Detroit Red Wings team experiencing a similar freefall.
This is the final regular-season game that the Canadiens will play in front of their home fans, and the question is whether they will return to the Bell Centre for Game 1 of the opening round. That’s the current outlook with them holding a games-played edge on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who got a win earlier today by beating the Boston Bruins. The Canadiens can seal home-ice advantage by winning the final three games, but that won’t be easy versus three teams locked in the Metro fight.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #13 Cole Caufield |
#14 Nick Suzuki |
#20 Juraj Slafkovský |
| #85 Alexandre Texier |
#91 Oliver Kapanen |
#93 Ivan Demidov |
| #15 Alex Newhook |
#24 Phillip Danault |
#77 Kirby Dach |
| #90 Joe Veleno |
#71 Jake Evans |
#17 Josh Anderson |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #8 Mike Matheson |
#53 Noah Dobson |
| #47 Jayden Struble |
#48 Lane Hutson |
| #72 Arber Xhekaj |
#42 Adam Engström |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #75 Jakub Dobeš |
#32 Jacob Fowler |
Injured: Alexandre Carrier, Kaiden Guhle
Scratched: Brendan Gallagher, Patrik Laine, Samuel Montembeault
Columbus Blue Jackets projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Kirill Marchenko |
Adam Fantilli |
Isac Lundestrom |
| Cole Sillinger |
Charlie Coyle |
Danton Heinen |
| Mason Marchment |
Boone Jenner |
Conor Garland |
| Miles Wood |
Sean Monahan |
Kent Johnson |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Zach Werenski |
Dante Fabbro |
| Ivan Provorov |
Denton Mateychuk |
| Jake Christiansen |
Erik Gudbranson |
| Starter |
Backup |
| Jet Greaves |
Elvis Merzlikins |
