Top 5: Blue Jackets close in on Canadiens in Eastern Conference standings

Marc-Olivier Cook
Top 5: Blue Jackets close in on Canadiens in Eastern Conference standings
Credit: Capture d'écran / X

Five games were played last night in the NHL.

And two of them had a clear impact on the Eastern Conference standings.

Let's take a look at what happened:

1: Blue Jackets move within two points of the playoffs

The Blue Jackets faced the Kings yesterday in an afternoon game.

And for the occasion, Conor Garland put on a show. The Columbus newcomer scored his first two goals in his new team's uniform:

But Garland was upstaged by Adrian Kempe, who scored his second goal of the game in overtime to give the Kings a 5-4 victory.

Too bad for Garland because he had a big game…

The Jackets were still able to pick up an important point in the standings. They are only two points behind the Bruins and four points behind the CH: the Columbus club will be one to watch between now and the end of the season…

Things are about to get interesting!

(Credit: Screenshot / NHL.com)

2: Important win for the Senators

The Senators were looking to secure their third straight win. They were in Vancouver for the occasion, and the Ottawa team dominated the game to win 2-0.

Ridley Greig scored in the second period, Brady Tkachuk scored an empty-net goal, and James Reimer stopped all 16 shots he faced to earn his 32nd career NHL shutout.

Well done!

This is also an important victory for the Sens, as they are now three points behind the Bruins and the last playoff spot in the East.

Will they be able to keep up the momentum?

One thing is certain: tomorrow's game between the Habs and the Senators is sure to be exciting. A good old 4-point game, just the way we like them…

3: Mika Zibanejad takes care of the Flyers

When Mika Zibanejad is on form, he's hard to stop.

We saw proof of that last night  as he dominated the Flyers, racking up three points, including two goals. He's a talented scorer, and has been for a while:

In the game, Matvei Michkov found the back of the net.

He scored a power play goal in the second period, bringing his total to 16 goals since the start of the season. It's not as many as we would have liked in Philly… but hey.

The Rangers ultimately won the game 6-2.

The victory will do them good… because the club has a 3-5-2 record in its last ten games. It's been tough in New York this season.

4: Connor Bedard's dominance

Connor Bedard is quite the hockey player.

And… he's starting to be closely watched by other National League teams. This clip sums it up pretty well:

The young Blackhawks star still found a way to dominate the Mammoth last night. Bedard finished the game with two assists, including this one on Andre Burakovsky's magnificent goal:

Bedard also assisted on his team's winning goal in overtime.

Frank Nazar ended the game with a beautiful overtime goal. The Hawks won 3-2 against André Tourigny's team:

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