The Columbus Blue Jackets rolled over at home Saturday night and gave the Blues a clear shot at sixth place in the Western Conference.

The Anaheim Ducks helped, too, by leaving a point on the ice Saturday night. So the Blues epic charge continued into Colorado, where the Blues hope snag two more points and leapfrog two more teams.

When the Blues were sitting dead last in the Western Conference, who could have guessed they would play for sixth place on the last day of the season?

Not the Hockey Guy. I believed their quest was admirable but impossible.

How could the Blues pass team after team after team standing in their way?

Well, they did. If they beat Colorado, they will draw Vancouver in the first round instead of their nemesis, the Red Wings, and the President’s Trophy-winner Sharks.

The Canucks will be no bargain, of course, but at least the trip to the Pacific Northwest would be scenic. There are worse places to visit, for sure.

COLUMBUS GETS LOST

The Blue Jackets stumble into the playoffs with just one victory in their last five games. Perhaps T.J. Oshie beat the life out of them by pile-driving big Rick Nash again and again.

Perhaps the Blues broke rookie goaltender Steve Mason by beating him again and again.

Ken Hitchcock is wondering what happened to his team. Instead of relishing their first playoff adventure, the Blue Jackets are pondering their late collapse.

Their struggle the last two weeks reminds you just how long the NHL season is. The Blues repeated their “next game” mantra for 3 1/2 months and managed to overtake numerous teams.

Now the Blues have the opportunity to pass two more.

THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT

Blues prospect David Warsofsky is on Cloud 9 today. His Boston University Terriers rallied improbably to win the NCAA hockey championship.

They scored twice in the final minute to drag Miami University in overtime. And then they won the title game, 4-3, on a fluky deflection goal.

“It’s the greatest comeback I’ve been involved in,” legendary BU coach Jack Parker told the Boston Globe.

Warsofsky, a freshman defenseman, scored 22 points in his first 44 games this season while posting a plus-25 rating. He set up BU’s first goal in the title game by getting a point shot on goal.

He is small (5-foot-9, 170 pounds) but very good with the puck. The Blues drafted him 95th overall in last year’s draft. Given the organization’s depth on defense, Warsofsky can take his time developing at the college level.

AROUND THE RINKS: Jacques Lemaire’s exit as coach of the Wild sets that franchise back to square one. It was his distinctive coaching that kept that defensive-minded team competitive year after year. But injuries got the best of that team this year . . . Down on the farm, the Rivermen are as hot as the Blues. They are rolling into the AHL playoffs . . . The world’s hottest goaltending prospect is a free agent playing in Swedish. Let the bidding begin . . . Warsofsky’s BU teammate, Matt Gilroy, is a free agent. HockeyBuzz reported that Philadelphia and Chicago are leading the bidding . . . The Red Wings locked up Johan Franzen with an 11-year deal, making you wonder if there is any money left for pending free agent Marian Hossa . . . Blues forward prospect Lars Eller enjoyed the playoff-clinching victory from the press box, where he viewed the game with his injured shoulder in a sling. He will hang out with Patrik Berglund in St. Louis this summer and his the gym. Eller is committed to playing in North America next season, for either the Blues or Rivermen . . . The Toronto Globe and Mail broke down the NHL awards candidates and had Andy Murray winning the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. How can Murray NOT win that award?