Rick Bowness did his best to grab hold of the Blue Jackets’ scorching run over the past three-plus weeks and douse it.
After guiding the Jackets to a 4-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 4 at Nationwide Arena, pushing their winning streak to seven games to make him just the seventh coach in NHL history to notch his first 10 wins in 11 games with a team, Bowness tried to downplay the excitement of an 11-1-0 run and 10-1-0 since Jan. 12, when he replaced former coach Dean Evason.
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“The reality is we just got 22 points out of 24, and we still don’t have a playoff spot,” Bowness said. “So, we have to keep pushing. We have to keep getting better.”
His message would probably be the same if the Blue Jackets (29-20-7) were the top team in the Eastern Conference or NHL, but it works even better starting a two-week break outside the playoff cut line. Their run of success worked wonders to lift the Jackets from last in the conference back into the thick of a playoff chase, but they haven’t accomplished anything yet.
A 26-game sprint to the finish line in mid-April awaits when the Blue Jackets return to work, and that’s what will determine whether they’re a playoff contender or not.
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“As excited as I am to go to Milan and represent my country in the Olympics, I’m almost as excited to get back here and get back with the guys already,” star defenseman Zach Werenski said. “It’s something special here, we’ve put in the work recently [and] we’re getting rewarded for it. The Olympics [are] going to be super, super special and once-in-a-lifetime, but I’m really excited to get back here with these guys and push for the playoffs.”
Here’s a glance at the Blue Jackets’ playoff hunt:
Following their victory over the Blackhawks, the Blue Jackets headed into the break at 65 points. That’s four points behind the New York Islanders (69 points) for third in the Metropolitan Division and five behind the Pittsburgh Penguins (70) for second.
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They’re tied with the Washington Capitals (65 points) and four points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers (61 points).
In the Eastern Conference race for two wild-card spots, the Jackets are chasing the Buffalo Sabres (70 points) and Boston Bruins (69 points).
FanDuel Sportsbook’s Moneyline gives the Jackets -115 odds to make the playoffs and -115 to miss out, while DraftKings and BetMGM each put Columbus’ odds at -135 to make the playoffs and +115 to miss.
As of Feb. 6, MoneyPuck gives the Blue Jackets a 52.7% chance to qualify for the playoffs. Breaking it down further, MoneyPuck projects the Jackets to finish with 95 points and gives Columbus a 15.2% chance of finishing second in the Metro, 25.4% chance of finishing third, 4.7% chance of landing the East’s first wild card and 5.8% chance of landing the second wild card.
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HockeyStats projects the Blue Jackets finishing with 94 points and gives them a 55% chance of qualifying for the playoffs. Hockey-Reference’s projection model gives the Blue Jackets a 44.4% chance of qualifying.
Blue Jackets 2025-26 remaining schedule
The Blue Jackets will play their final 26 games over a span of just 48 days, including five back-to-backs and 15 games against teams currently occupying playoff spots.
There are 10 divisional matchups against Metro teams left, including two with the Islanders and two with the first-place Carolina Hurricanes (76 points).
Here’s a list of the Blue Jackets’ remaining games:
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Feb. 28 vs. New York Islanders
March 2 at New York Rangers
March 3 vs. Nashville Predators
March 5 vs. Florida Panthers
March 9 vs. Los Angeles Kings
March 12 at Florida Panthers
March 14 at Philadelphia Flyers
March 17 vs. Carolina Hurricanes
March 19 vs. New York Rangers
March 21 vs. Seattle Kraken
March 22 at New York Islanders
March 24 at Philadelphia Flyers
March 26 at Montreal Canadiens
March 28 vs. San Jose Sharks
March 29 vs. Boston Bruins
March 31 vs. Carolina Hurricanes
April 2 at Carolina Hurricanes
April 4 vs. Winnipeg Jets
April 7 at Detroit Red Wings
April 9 at Buffalo Sabres
April 11 at Montreal Canadiens
April 12 vs. Boston Bruins
April 14 vs Washington Capitals
Other than veteran defenseman Brendan Smith, who is likely to miss the rest of the regular season following knee surgery, the Blue Jackets begin their Olympic break in good shape.
Kirill Marchenko, their second-leading scorer and top scoring forward, missed two games due to illness before the break but should be healthy coming out of it.
Dante Fabbro, who played each end of the Jackets’ back-to-back before the break, should be feeling even better after returning from a foot laceration that sidelined him for six games.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
Blue Jackets center Boone Jenner races to the puck in a 4-0 win over the Blackhawks at Nationwide Arena on Feb. 4.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets playoff odds, schedule after hot streak