With four regular-season games remaining, the Columbus Blue Jackets are desperately trying to stay in playoff contention as they prepare to visit the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.
The Blue Jackets (39-27-12, 90 points) are two points out of the playoff picture in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference wild-card standings. They trail the Philadelphia Flyers for third in the division and the Ottawa Senators for the final wild-card spot.
Columbus snapped a six-game losing streak (0-5-1) with a 4-3 shootout win over the host Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night, a game in which the Blue Jackets twice came from behind to tie the contest.
The Blue Jackets and Red Wings were tied in the wild-card race going into the game.
“We had to win that game,” Columbus coach Rick Bowness said. “That was a great hockey game between two teams that are obviously very evenly matched.”
Defenseman Zach Werenski scored the shootout winner and had a goal and an assist in regulation as he played more than half the game’s 65 minutes (33:26).
“This is obviously a massive win,” said Werenski, who grew up in suburban Detroit, rooting for the Red Wings. “We were just focusing on Detroit, but now we’ll take the good stuff from this game and build off it for Buffalo.”
Adam Fantilli made Werenski’s shootout heroics possible by tying it 3-3 with 17 seconds left in regulation with goaltender Jet Greaves pulled for the extra attacker.
“We got it to overtime, and then Jet was huge in overtime and the shootout,” Fantilli said.
The shootout was tied 2-2 after four rounds. Greaves then stopped James van Riemsdyk’s attempt before Werenski ended it.
With 80 points (22 goals, 58 assists), Werenski joins Phil Housley and Brian Leetch as the only U.S.-born defensemen to reach that mark in consecutive seasons.
The Sabres (48-23-8, 104 points), who have already clinched a playoff berth, moved into first place alone in the Atlantic Division with a 5-3 road win over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens are each two points back of Buffalo, each with a game in hand on the Sabres.
“It’s a tight race right there for first in the Atlantic,” Buffalo winger Alex Tuch said. “We want to do whatever we can to try to increase our, I guess, lead now. I guess we’re in first now, but obviously two really good teams chasing us. Just want to stack up some wins, get some points, continue to push and get ready for the playoffs.”
Buffalo will play two of its final three regular-season games at home.
“It feels like we’ve been in a tight race since December,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “A tight race to get in the picture, then a tight race to move up the standings, and now it’s a tight race to stay up the standings. Our division has been incredibly tough. You look at the strings of games that Montreal put together. You look at Tampa Bay had a real nice run. And we’re all sitting there together.”
Buffalo rallied for the win on Wednesday with third-period goals by Tuch (his 31st), Jason Zucker and Zach Benson’s second of the game, which came into an empty net. Zucker also had an assist in the game.
