Columbus Could Clinch a Playoff Spot if They Defeat the Red Wings

Columbus was able to steal a point in their game against the Vancouver Canucks, but ultimately lost the battle.

The game on Saturday was a whirlwind that had to be resolved in overtime. It was a short five-minutes when Alexander Edler scored just over a minute in.

Columbus scored 14 minutes into the opening period. Seth Jones drew first blood with assists from Cam Atkinson and Artemi Panarin.

The second period was back-to-back goals from Vancouver. Darren Archibald tied the game at 11:53 and then Nikolay Goldobin scored his sixth of the season at 13:37. The Canucks went on to score two more unanswered goals in the third period before Columbus was finally able to tie the score.

Pierre-Luc Dubois got his 19th goal two minutes after Vancouver's fourth point. Another two minutes later, Zach Werenski further cut the deficit, and then Atkinson was able to tie the game with a little over a minute left in the game. Edler then scored for the Canucks early on in overtime to end the battle.

Despite the loss, the Jackets were still able to maintain their third place spot in the division. The single point they were able to gain in Canada now puts them at 94 points, just two points behind Pittsburgh and nine points behind Washington.

If Columbus wins tonight against Detroit, and the Predators beat the Florida Panthers (whether it be in regulation, overtime, or a shootout) Columbus will clinch their spot in the playoffs.

The team is excited for the opportunity to have back-to-back seasons of playoff hockey for the first time in franchise history, but they're solely focused on the game at hand.

"I'm pleased that we have an opportunity to play another game and we're still in the hunt," coach John Tortorella said Monday after practice at the OhioHealth Ice Haus. "So, get ready for Detroit [Tuesday]. I'm happy that game means something … glad [it's] an important game for us."

Even though Detroit is out of the playoff picture, they can still play spoiler. If they win tonight, it'll hurt Columbus' chances of clinching, but it will also mess up the Jackets seeding. While it's likely Columbus will be playing post-season hockey, it'd be nice if they didn't have to play against the Penguins during it.

Detroit has played 79 games and boast a record of 30-38-11. So while their season hasn't exactly been stellar, they were able to pull out a win on Saturday against the Ottawa Senators. Jimmy Howard got a shutout, while Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou were the lone goal scorers of the night.

If Columbus wins tonight, they'll sweep the series. This is the third time these two teams have met. Columbus beat them back in November in an 11-round shootout, and then also beat them 3-2 in March.

Markus Nutivaara was not at practice Monday morning and won't play tonight with an injury. Jack Johnson will replace the young defenseman and play alongside Ryan Murray.

The practice was optional, and some other key players missed out including Ryan Murray, Josh Anderson, Seth Jones, Artemi Panarin, Thomas Vanek, and even goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Tortorella said there's an illness flying around the locker room and gave some players the opportunity to simply rest.

Blue Jackets Projected Lineup

Sonny Milano - Pierre-Luc Dubois- Cam Atkinson

Artemi Panarin - Alexander Wennberg - Bjorkstrand

Boone Jenner - Mark Letestu - Thomas Vanek

Matt Calvert - Brandon Dubinsky - Markus Hannikainen

Zach Werenski - Seth Jones

Ian Cole - David Savard

Ryan Murray - Jack Johnson

Sergei Bobrovsky

Red Wings Projected Lineup

Tyler Bertuzzi - Henrik Zetterberg - Gustav Nyquist

Darren Helm - Dylan Larkin - Anthony Mantha

Andreas Athanasiou - Frans Nielsen - Justin Abdelkader

Martin Frk - Luke Glendening - Evgeny Svechnikov

Jonathan Ericsson - Trevor Daley

Niklas Kronwall - Nick Jensen

Dan DeKeyser - Joe Hicketts

Jimmy Howard