The Columbus Blue Jackets stayed in the playoff hunt with a dramatic 4-3 overtime win against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday.
Their formula seems to be set: Sergei Bobrovsky remained the constant force with a revolving set of other heroes giving the team yet another victory despite a tiny margin of error. In this case, Nick Foligno (OT winner) and R.J. Umberger (late game-tying goal) were the ones who made the difference.
Want to take a look at those exciting goals? First, here’s Foligno’s winner, which came with about 30 seconds left in OT:
One could say that Umberger’s 3-3 tally was of the get-you-out-of-your-seat variety, too:
That’s almost as exciting as a trip to Vegas, eh?
Here’s how the race for the West’s eight seed looks after Monday:
8. Detroit (idle tonight): 20-15-7 for 47 points with six games left
9. Columbus: 20-16-7 for 47 points with five games left
10. Dallas (lost 5-2 to Chicago): 21-18-3 for 45 points with six games left
11. Phoenix: 18-16-7 for 43 points with six games left*
It won’t be easy for the Blue Jackets. Their next four games are on the road as they face the three California teams and then fellow fringe competitor Dallas (then they finish at home against Nashville).
After all that’s happened, are you really willing to count Bobrovsky and the Blue Jackets out, though?
* - The Coyotes currently trail the San Jose Sharks 3-0, so that could change from 43 to 44 or 45 points with five games left depending on the outcome.