WASHINGTON (AP) — Johnny Gaudreau's jersey has occupied a stall in the Columbus Blue Jackets' locker room all season after his tragic death last summer. With two games left in the regular season, his teammates are trying to extend their inspirational run into the playoffs.
The Blue Jackets beat the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals twice over the weekend to extend their winning streak to four and keep their long-shot playoff bid going. After Montreal's shootout loss Monday night to last-place Chicago, the Blue Jackets still need to win out and get help to qualify for the East's second and final wild card, but the mere fact they're still in it against all expectations is a tribute in itself to Gaudreau.
“We’re responding well right now: We’re winning these must-win games and continue to do that and see what happens,” said defenseman Zach Werenski, who scored his 22nd goal of the season Sunday in a 4-1 victory at the Capitals. “It’s one of those things where we can only control what’s in front of us, and that’s the games and winning them. It’s just been the collective buy-in these last three, four games. We know it’s win or go home and everyone’s been stepping up, playing the right way and it’s been a lot of fun.”
Gaudreau and brother Matthew were killed in late August riding their bicycles in their home state of New Jersey on the eve of their sister Katie's wedding. Columbus has dedicated the season to his memory, and the rest of the NHL and the hockey community have rallied around the Gaudreau family.
“I don’t even think it’s the hockey community — it’s the world in general," coach Dean Evason said. “We have people come up to us that aren’t hockey fans that talk about how everything has unfolded this year, how players are handling it, how the family’s handled it, how Meredith, his wife, has handled it and I think it goes beyond the hockey world.”
Once they got to camp and grieved together, the Blue Jackets handled on-ice adversity, as well, losing captain Boone Jenner to a long-term injury and doing their best to play hockey that would make Gaudreau proud.
They had 15-1 odds just to make the playoffs when the season started, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, which listed them at as high as 25-1 in mid-November. In the race down the stretch, they lost four of five in late March and early April before this run.
The latest heroes? Goaltender Jet Greaves, who stopped 90 of 93 shots during a stretch of three games in four days, and Adam Fantilli, who has scored five times during this streak.
“You want to have everybody pulling on the same rope, and I think our whole team’s been doing a great job of doing that,” Fantilli said after scoring two goals at Washington. "We’ve had a lot of depth scoring. Everybody’s been dialing in as much as possible, and it’s been helping us a lot.”
Greaves played in the American Hockey League on Wednesday night before getting called up Thursday. He bounced back from becoming the record-extending 184th different netminder to allow a goal to all-time leader Alex Ovechkin by stopping the next 29 shots he faced Sunday.
"Playing a lot of hockey, which is always fun," Greaves said. “I feel comfortable. I think the guys are doing a good job in front just kind of making those saves simple and doing a good job on the secondary plays, boxing out, so it’s been a good team effort.”
Columbus needs to win at Philadelphia on Tuesday night and against the New York Islanders on Thursday night — in regulation each time — and for Montreal to lose to Carolina in regulation on Wednesday night to get in. A series against the Capitals would await.
“I obviously wish we were kind of controlling our own destiny right now, but just getting these experiences inside of these big games at big times of the year, I think it only is going to help our group moving forward,” Werenski said. "Hopefully we just keep this thing going.”
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Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
