Practice Report: Jackets prepare for Montreal challenge

So how big is
tonight's game at Nationwide Arena
between the Blue Jackets and visiting Montreal Canadiens?
According to
MoneyPuck.com, a hockey analytics site
, the Blue Jackets currently have a 51.7 percent chance of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs, based on a model that simulates the rest of the NHL season 100,000 times based on the remaining games a team has and the strength of each team. For Montreal, which leads the Blue Jackets by two points but has played one more game than Columbus, that number is at 56.4 percent.
But if the Blue Jackets win in regulation tonight to tie the Habs with a game in hand, Columbus'

There have been some important games down the stretch in the history of the Blue Jackets franchise, but rarely have they matched up two teams so close in the playoff race. When Columbus clinched its first three playoff berths, they did so with a few games to spare and never faced a direct combatant for a playoff spot at home like this.
A year ago, Columbus didn't clinch until its penultimate game of the year, but that was against a Pittsburgh team already in the playoffs (though a March 22 home game vs. a Florida team that ended up missing the playoffs by one point loomed large). And in 2013, when the team missed out by a tiebreaker, it played most of its games down the stretch on the road, then beat a Nashville team that was well out of it in its finale.
In other words, this is a bit of a unique contest in the history of the franchise.
So how does a team get ready for it? Put a ton of importance on it, or treat it like any other game?
Well … yes?
"It's tough because you want to approach it like just another game, two points, but it's a big game for us," defenseman Zach Werenski said. "I think everyone knows that. I think everyone knows the standings and whatnot, what is at risk in the game here. It might break our season, but it's a big game for us to go out there and get two points."
Of course, it's not an end-all, be-all game for Columbus. With its game in hand, the tiebreaker advantage, and Montreal's tough schedule down the stretch, Columbus could rebound even after a loss, but the margin of error would be about zero at that point. And a win wouldn't clinch anything, either, as Columbus would still have to finish strong to make the playoffs.
But the reality is, if you look at the history of the franchise, games with this importance don't come around all that often. It will be a unique night in Nationwide Arena.
"We know how important the games are," head coach John Tortorella said. "No game the rest of the year is more important than the others. This is our next game. The guys know where we are in the standings. They know where Montreal is. I don't have to talk about it. Sometimes if you start putting too much importance on it, you spok them. I want them to relax and enjoy it."
Top Line Ready:When the Blue Jackets hit the ice in Vancouver on Sunday, the drought for the team's prolific top line was extensive.
The team's top goal scorer, Cam Atkinson, stepped onto the Rogers Arena ice having not scored in six games, a stretch as barren as the Gobi Desert. The other winger, Artemi Panarin, was trappd in the Arabian Desert having not put a puck in the net for 11 games. And then there was the Sahara - center Pierre-Luc Dubois' 13-game goal-less streak.
"The key for us is to get some scoring from our top line," Tortorella said at the game, "Luc, Bread and Cam are too good to be sitting this way at this time of year. We don't have a chance if we don't get them on the scoreboard."
Over the last two games, though, the three have found an oasis, and it's no mirage. Dubois finally got on the board with the team's second goal Sunday against the Canucks, then Panarin scored a huge breakaway goal to increase the Jackets' lead Tuesday vs. the Islanders and Atkinson added an empty-net goal for good measure.
"An open net, a beautiful goal - whatever it may be, for an offensive guy, when they get a number and they get a goal, it does (make a difference)," Tortorella said. "You saw it happen with Luc the other night. He finally scores a goal, his whole game changed. This game is about the mind, not X's and O's. It's about the mind."
Werenski OK: There was some concern over the status of defenseman Zach Werenski when he missed the end of Tuesday's game vs. New York, but he should be good to go vs. the Habs.
He appeared to tweak his lower body after what he described as an "awkward" collision with an Islanders player. Werenski went to the training room, came back out to test it, and then went back to the room, not seeing the ice for the final 13:21 of the game.
Werenski said deciding not to return was a precautionary move, especially with such an important game coming up.
"I wanted to give it a chance, but talking with the trainers, and how I felt the game was going - I felt like we were in control fo that game - so just rest it and get ready for this game," Werenski said this morning.
Werenski took part in the team's morning skate today and said he's ready to play.
"Just kind of a weird play, and I am happy I'm good to go, I guess," he said.
Tortorella said there would be no lineup changes from the Jackets' 4-0 win vs. New York on Tuesday, with Sergei Bobrovsky set to get his third straight start.
Scouting the Habs:Tortorella doesn't often spend too much time talking about the other team, but with the cadre of Montreal reporters that travel with the Canadiens at his morning skate, the head coach was asked about the challenge presented by tonight's opposition.
Here's what he had to say about a team that has twice beaten Columbus this year and is one of the best 5-on-5 teams in the league:
"They are very well coached away from the puck, very similar to the last team we played, the Islanders," Tortorella said. "Playing with a ton of confidence obviously in the run they're on now, the last four or five games, and I'm not sure how many before that. I don't want you to get me wrong, we try to play the way we play. We can't worry too much about what Montreal is going to do.
"The Islanders just kind of force you into that. It's not that exciting to watch, but you have to be really patient. I think it's similar with Montreal. They have very good goaltenders, as we do. The teams kind of match up in the situation here. I think Montreal is going to defend the proper way, they are taught very well how to play away from the puck. They are going to wait for their opportunities, and with their transition game, that's how they get you.
"We have to make sure if they are going to get something, it has to come from 200 feet. That's what we have to be careful of because I think there's some depth in that lineup, some balance in their lines. No matter who they send out, we have to be sharp between the blue lines not turning pucks over."