The Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers each have 75 points, six behind the Ottawa Senators for the first wild card in the Eastern Conference. Columbus has played 71 games, Montreal 72 games and New York 73 games.

The Vancouver Canucks lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a dramatic shootout, 7-6, despite leading 3-0 in the first period. Defensive errors and critical mistakes were highlighted by coach Rick Tocchet as key issues.

Boone Jenner had two goals, Kent Johnson had the lone score of the shootout and the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied from a pair of multi-goal deficits to beat the Vancouver Canucks 7-6 on Friday night and move into a tie for the final wild card in the Eastern Conference.