There are two sides to every story, and the Eastern Conference will have a good one playing out for the rest of the season. On one side are the Montreal Canadiens, a team who had next to no expectations after a disappointing year who would need multiple waves of positivity to reach the playoffs. On the other, the Columbus Blue Jackets, who walked into the season running the risk of losing stars Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky.
Instead of doing the safe thing and moving Panarain and Bobrovsky for assets ahead of the deadline, the Blue Jackets emptied the cupboard telling their fan base and the rest of the NHL that they were going for it despite the risk of losing both starts to the open market.