Blue Jackets Recall Left Wing Markus Hannikainen From Monsters

The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled left wing Markus Hannikainen from the AHL's Cleveland Monsters.

In 27 appearances for Columbus this season, Hannikainen posted 2-2-4 with six penalty minutes and a -1 rating and added 0-3-3 with an even rating in seven appearances for Cleveland. In 41 career NHL appearances for the Blue Jackets spanning three seasons from 2015-18, Hannikainen, 24, supplied 3-3-6 with 12 penalty minutes and a -3 rating.

In 114 career AHL appearances, all for the Monsters, spanning three seasons from 2015-18, Hannikainen, a 6’1”, 200 lb., left-handed native of Helsinki, Finland, logged 26-34-60 with 42 penalty minutes and a +12 rating and notched 3-7-10 with two penalty minutes and a +12 rating in 16 appearances in the 2016 AHL Playoffs, helping the Monsters claim the 2016 Calder Cup Championship. In 117 career Liiga appearances for Jokerit, HPK, and JYP spanning parts of four seasons from 2011-15, Hannikainen tallied 22-31-53 with 67 penalty minutes and a +26 rating and represented Finland in the 2012 and 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships, and the 2017 IIHF World Championships.

Wild get rare road win, top Blue Jackets 3-2 in shootout

By NICOLE KRAFT
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- It was a long night on the road for the Minnesota Wild.

This time, it was worth it.

Zach Parise and Chris Stewart scored in the shootout, and the Wild beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Tuesday.

Devan Dubnyk had 28 saves for Minnesota (27-18-5), which earned its 10th road win of the season. Jason Zucker scored his 20th goal, and Charlie Coyle added his fifth in the third period.

"It's been a tough go on the road," Dubnyk said. "We all felt it. We all talked about it. There is nothing we can say to make it go away. We just need to go play better.

"It was a good start for us tonight."

Columbus (27-19-4) lost for the fourth time in six games. Sergei Bobrovsky made 41 stops, Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist and David Savard scored his third of the season.

Savard got the lead for the Blue Jackets when he scored on a top-shelf shot from the blue line just 1:16 into the game, surprising Dubnyk. Dean Kukan got an assist on the play for his first NHL point.

Savard had a chance for another goal at 12:19, but it was waved off for a distinct kicking motion.

Minnesota got on the board with a power-play goal at 4:25 of the second. Zucker beat Bobrovsky in a battle for the puck in the crease, matching Eric Staal for the team lead in goals and extending his point streak to seven games.

"The first 10 minutes of the second period was a perfect road game," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Getting it deep, shooting at the net ... doing all the simple things."

The Wild jumped in front when Coyle scored right after his team killed off a Stewart slashing penalty, but the Blue Jackets responded.

With Zucker in the box for delay of game, Panarin scored his 13th of the season at 14:48 on a shot from the right circle.

Panarin also scored Columbus' only goal in the shootout, which went four rounds.

"We can't have so many ebbs and flows in the game," Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. "There are already enough to begin with. It can't come from us.

"Look at our effort in the first period, dominating. The second period hits, and our effort goes away. They come right way and start dictating."

NOTES: The Wild play three of their next four games on the road. ... Blue Jackets F Brandon Dubinsky returned after missing 18 games with an orbital fracture. He played almost 15 minutes and was a plus-one.

UP NEXT

Wild: Hosts Vegas on Friday.

Blue Jackets: Host San Jose on Friday.

Atkinson returns, scores winner for Blue Jackets in Arizona

By JOSE M. ROMERO
Associated Press

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Cam Atkinson viewed his extended absence from the Blue Jackets as a chance at a fresh start. In his first game in more than a month, he came up big.

The veteran forward scored with 3:03 left to give Columbus a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

Returning from a broken foot that sidelined him for 11 games, Atkinson tipped in Alexander Wennberg's shot. Wennberg also scored to help the Blue Jackets win for the second time in five games.

"It was a chance for me to hit the reset button," Atkinson said. "I don't really want to remember the first half (of the season). It wasn't great."

Columbus won its sixth consecutive game against Arizona and snapped the Coyotes' season-high five-game points streak.

Sergei Bobrovsky had 38 saves, outdueling Antti Raanta, who stopped 25 shots for Arizona in a game that was scoreless after two periods. This was the last game for both teams before the NHL All-Star break.

"The second half of the second period we just turned the thing over left and right, that's when (Bobrovsky) came up big," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "We had it going our way the first half of the second period and then we got stubborn through the neutral zone. I think we gave up eight scoring chances based on six turnovers by ourselves. Bob made some key saves."

The scoring didn't come until the third period, first with the Blue Jackets on a power play. Wennberg deflected teammate Seth Jones' shot into the net at 1:19.

The Coyotes drew even on a power play after an interference call on the Blue Jackets' Josh Anderson. They tied it with 12:21 to play when Brendan Perlini gathered a loose puck that popped out of the crease amid a pileup of players and scored. Perlini, playing his 100th career NHL game, surpassed Peter Mueller for the most goals (28) in his first 100 games with the franchise.

The goal was reviewed for interference with the goaltender, but upheld. Perlini has a goal in four consecutive games.

"He's playing hard and from October to now, he's one of our most improved players," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "If he plays inside the dots, he's going to get a lot of goals in this league."

After a largely uneventful first period, both teams were more active in the second. Raanta thwarted a chance that developed from a series of passes, catching Matt Calvert's blast from the point at 7:17 of the period.

Bobrovsky extended his right leg to stop Jakob Chychrun's shot through traffic with 4:35 left in the second. Neither team put the puck in the net in the second 20 minutes of the game.

A scuffle between Coyotes All-Star defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Columbus top-liner Artemi Panarin in the crease resulted in roughing penalties for each with 55 seconds to play.

The Blue Jackets went on a power play, the first of the game, 17 seconds into the final period when Arizona defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson was called for tripping. Columbus cashed in with Wennberg's fifth goal.

Atkinson said he screamed at Wennberg for the puck leading up to the winning goal. Wennberg said he didn't hear his teammate.

"I just saw his stick," Wennberg said. "This is the way I want to play. I want to be a player that makes a difference in a game."

NOTES: The Blue Jackets activated Atkinson from injured reserved before Thursday's game, and Atkinson played on the Columbus second line. ... Columbus assigned F Nathan Gerbe to Cleveland of the AHL. ... Coyotes D Alex Goligoski was scratched with an illness, his first missed game of the season. Goligoski had played in 213 straight games. ... F Jordan Martinook was able to play despite being a game-time decision with an upper body injury. ... C Brad Richardson did not return after the first period and left the game with an upper body injury, it was announced after the second. D Jason Demers also left with an upper body injury in the third. Tocchet had no update on the two after the game.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Host Minnesota on Tuesday night.

Coyotes: Host Dallas on Feb. 1.

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Panarin scores in shootout as Blue Jackets beat Stars 2-1

By MITCH STACY
AP Sports Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- While some of his Columbus teammates traveled to the Caribbean during the bye week, Joonas Korpisalo went to frosty Cleveland and helped the Blue Jackets' minor league affiliate to a shootout victory last Saturday.

It served as a nice little tuneup for Thursday night's game against Dallas.

Korpisalo had 35 saves and Artemi Panarin scored in the second round of a shootout, sending the Blue Jackets to a 2-1 victory over the Stars.

"I knew before the break (of the start against Dallas)," said Korpisalo, who replaced struggling starter Sergei Bobrovsky. "It's been a long time since I played."

Coach John Tortorella said he wanted to give Bobrovsky, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, some more rest before he takes over again.

"I think Bob has some struggles coming off a break, so this was planned," Tortorella said. "Korpi's handled himself really well, made some key saves. We were on his back tonight."

Jordan Schroeder scored his first goal of the season for Columbus in the first period. The Blue Jackets (26-18-3) dropped both ends of a back-to-back last week before the break.

Alexander Radulov tied it for Dallas with 2:05 left in regulation. Ben Bishop had 25 stops, including a terrific glove save on Alexander Wennberg with 30 seconds left in the third.

Bishop stopped the first shootout attempt by Jussi Jokinen, who just joined Columbus off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings. Korpisalo then denied Jason Spezza.

Panarin beat Bishop in the second round, and Radulov shot wide of the net. Wennberg then came up empty for Columbus, but Korpisalo blocked Tyler Seguin's try.

The Stars (26-17-4) had won two in a row.

Dallas' Antoine Roussel tapped a shot into the net early in the third period, but it was waved off because a replay showed Radulov had interfered with Korpisalo. Coach Ken Hitchcock was still steaming about the call after the game, insisting his players were within the rules when they charged the net.

"It's disappointing because we could have and should have won the hockey game," he said. "I'm confused to say the least."

Schroeder - getting more ice time because of injuries to three top forwards - put the Blue Jackets in front 12:23 into the game. Bishop skated behind the cage to retrieve the puck, but he wasn't set when Tyler Motte deflected it back out front to Schroeder, who was racing through the slot.

"We were hungry," said Schroeder, who skated on the fourth line with Motte and Lukas Sedlak. "I think it was a huge momentum swing early for our team."

Bishop said the Stars need to play better.

"I think we did a good job of finding a way to get a point there, getting it into overtime," he said. "When it's this time of the season, you've got to find a way to get points when you're not at your best."

NOTES: Dallas D Dillon Heatherington made his NHL debut. ... Columbus put F Sonny Milano on injured reserve. He is expected to miss four to six weeks with an oblique injury. ... F Markus Hannikainen was a scratch for Columbus. ... Dallas scratches included D Julius Honka and F Gemel Smith.

UP NEXT

Dallas: At Buffalo on Saturday.

Columbus: At Vegas on Tuesday.

Okposo has goal, assist in Sabres' 3-1 win over Blue Jackets

By JOHN WAWROW
AP Hockey Writer

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- Kyle Okposo welcomed the opportunity to capitalize on a fortunate bounce in a season during which very little has gone right for the offensively challenged Buffalo Sabres.

"Yeah, hopefully that's a little gift from the hockey gods tonight for me and for the team," Okposo said after Buffalo snapped an 0-4-1 skid in beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Thursday night.

Okposo added an assist and scored the eventual game-winner by sweeping a loose puck into an unattended net 7:18 into the third period.

Buffalo forward Evander Kane started the play with an innocent-looking dump-in up the right boards. The puck hit a crease along the boards and caromed directly to Okposo rather than to goalie Sergei Bobrovksy, who was waiting for the puck behind the Columbus net.

"When you work, you seem to get those bounces," Okposo said. "There's times you're not going to get them, so you've got to take them when they're there."

Benoit Pouliot and Jack Eichel, with an empty-netter, also scored for Buffalo (11-24-9), which sits last in the Eastern Conference standings while generating an NHL-low 99 goals.

Linus Ullmark stopped 44 shots in his first NHL game of the season. He stopped the first 39 shots he faced before having his shutout bid foiled on Artemi Panarin's power-play goal with 6:15 remaining.

Bobrovsky stopped 26 shots and could only shake his head in describing how helpless he felt watching Okposo score.

"Nothing I've got to add," he said. "There is a bad bounce and we couldn't do anything."

It didn't help that Columbus defenseman Seth Jones was caught out of position when he glanced back at Okposo at the exact moment the puck bounced off the boards."

"I saw Jones look over his shoulder," Okposo said. "I was just hoping that he didn't see it. And he didn't see it in time."

Unlike the Sabres, the Blue Jackets didn't get the bounces.

Panarin also had a shot hit off the inside of the post and bounce through the crease in the first period, and also hit the crossbar late in the third.

Columbus has had trouble generating offense even though the Blue Jackets were coming off a 3-2 overtime win at Toronto in which they scored twice in the final 4:35.

Columbus has now managed just six goals in regulation and been shut out twice in its past six.

Defenseman Zach Werenski said the Blue Jackets didn't get enough traffic in front of Ullmark.

"It's all from the outside. We had no second chances," Werenski said. "(Ullmark's) a big goalie. He saved everything he saw."

Ullmark got the start with Robin Lehner still sore after being struck in the neck by a shot in a 4-1 loss at Philadelphia on Sunday.

It was Ullmark's 22nd career NHL game. He was called up from AHL Rochester, where he has a 17-5-1 record.

He stopped 15 shots in the second period alone, with his best save coming midway through the frame. Columbus cycled the puck through the zone, eventually getting it to Jones alone in the high slot. Jones snapped a shot through a crowd only to have Ullmark get his glove down to snag it.

"I just think the confidence he has, I think he's carried that forward from Rochester," coach Phil Housley said of Ullmark. "He's very calm, doesn't overplay things."

NOTES: Blue Jackets C Alexander Wennberg returned after missing eight games with a back injury. ... Sabres D Zach Bogosian will miss between four and six weeks after hurting his lower left leg in practice Wednesday. ... The Blue Jackets recalled backup G Joonas Korpisalo from AHL Cleveland, two days after he was demoted and stopped 29 shots in the Monsters' 1-0 loss at Milwaukee.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Host Vancouver Canucks on Friday.

Sabres: Enter NHL-mandated five-day break, and are off until playing at New York Rangers on Jan. 18

Anderson lifts Blue Jackets past Panthers in shootout

By ROBERT DENHARD
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Struggling to score goals and with several important offensive players sidelined, the Columbus Blue Jackets pulled out a gritty win - just the way coach John Tortorella wants his team to play.

Josh Anderson scored the deciding goal in the eighth round of the shootout, lifting the Blue Jackets to a 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Sunday night.

"That scratching, clawing, spitting, biting doing everything you can to win the game, we did it," Tortorella said.

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped Jared McCann's attempt to secure the win for the Blue Jackets, who also got goals from Artemi Panarin and Jack Johnson in the tiebreaker. Aleksander Barkov, who tied the score with 1:34 left in the third period, and Mike Matheson scored in the shootout for Florida.

"It was a good point," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said after his team lost its third straight. "It was a hard fought point against a real good hockey club. Both teams had good goaltending. We've just got to take this and move on."

Nick Foligno and rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois scored power-play goals for Columbus - just the second time this season the NHL's worst man-advantage unit has come through twice, and both against Florida. Bobrovsky, who took an errant stick under his chin in the final period, had 42 saves through overtime to help the Blue Jackets win for just the fourth time in 11 games (4-6-1).

"We threw a lot of pucks at them and we were able to get a couple big power play goals," Columbus forward Boone Jenner said.

Jonathan Huberdeau also scored for the Panthers and James Reimer stopped 46 shots. Florida's streak has followed a five-game winning streak to close December.

Reimer was clutch in the third period, keeping his team within one goal while making several tough saves in the opening few minutes and later turning aside a breakaway by Dubois.

"He gave us a chance and he definitely was a big part of us getting a point," Boughner said of Reimer, who made his 14th straight start. "You always wish you had two. We had some great chances in overtime and it would have been nice to win it for him."

With the Panthers trailing late in regulation and the teams skating 4-on-4, the puck deflected off the skate of Foligno to Barkov, who slammed it past Bobrovksy for his 13th to even the score.

"The third period I thought we played really well and we just couldn't score a third goal," Tortorella said. "And you knew it was going to happen (that Florida would tie the game)."

Foligno opened the scoring at 9:47 of the first period, wristing a rebound from the slot over Reimer's glove for his first in 11 games.

Huberdeau made it 1-1 just 31 seconds into the second period on the power play with his 15th, a redirection near the crease on pass from Barkov. Huberdeau has scored six times in his last seven games.

Later in the period, Jones zipped a pass from the right side that Dubois tapped in for his ninth on a bang-bang play.

"Our power play hasn't been working this year but I think in our past couple games we're getting closer and closer," Dubois said.

NOTES: Columbus is still without injured forwards Brandon Dubinsky, Cam Atkinson and Alexander Wennberg. ... Florida RW Radim Vrbata missed his fifth consecutive game because of an illness. ...The Blue Jackets are 17-4-3 when scoring first. ... The Panthers, completing the first half of their 82-game schedule, had gone seven contests without a power-play goal.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: At Toronto on Monday night.

Panthers: At St. Louis on Tuesday night.

Bjorkstrand's quick strikes lead Blue Jackets over Stars 2-1

By SCHUYLER DIXON
AP Sports Writer

DALLAS (AP) -- Oliver Bjorkstrand and the Columbus Blue Jackets were headed in the opposite direction of the Dallas Stars even though the teams had identical records going into the halfway point of the season.

The third-year forward reversed things in a hurry.

Bjorkstrand scored twice 78 seconds apart early in the third period and the Blue Jackets stopped a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over the Stars on Tuesday night.

Bjorkstrand's seventh and eighth goals of the season came after Devin Shore tipped in a shot from John Klingberg to break a scoreless tie for Dallas in the first minute of the third.

The Blue Jackets ended Dallas' four-game home winning streak in the 41st game for both teams.

"Once you start losing a few games you want to come back and win a game," Bjorkstrand said. "I feel like we were ready to play today and played the right way and we got the win."

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 21 shots for his 200th career victory.

On the tying goal, Bjorkstrand won a puck battle with Stephen Johns at the blue line and skated in on Ben Bishop, beating the Dallas goalie and ending his five-period scoreless streak. Bishop had 24 saves.

A little more than a minute later, Bjorkstrand skated up the same side and beat Bishop inside the post. Seth Jones, the son of former NBA player Popeye Jones playing against his hometown team, assisted on the go-ahead goal.

It was almost a replay of the most recent home loss for the Stars, when they went up 3-2 on Washington late in the third only to give up the tying goal less than a minute later and lose in overtime.

"I didn't think we played great, but we had a 1-0 lead in the third period," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "This is disappointing. Some days are perfect, and some days aren't. To have a 1-0 lead in your own building and give up the two goals in your own building is disappointing."

The Stars went ahead when Tyler Seguin got his stick caught up with Boone Jenner but managed to get the puck across the ice to Klingberg. The defenseman's wrist shot was tipped by Shore and trickled past Bobrovsky.

There was only one penalty in the game, a hooking call against Dallas captain Jamie Benn. But the best scoring chance on it was short-handed for the Stars when Dan Hamhuis had a shot stopped in transition.

Hamhuis had another great chance from much closer stopped by the pad of Bobrovsky, whose sprawling right skate knocked the net loose just as he covered the puck.

The Blue Jackets, missing key forwards Cam Atkinson (foot), Alex Wennberg (back) and Brandon Dubinsky (fractured orbital bone), were coming off a 5-0 loss to Tampa Bay.

"I feel like we knew we were playing good before," said Lukas Sedlak, who had two assists. "We got scored on (against Tampa) and then we kind of fell off. Today I felt we came right back and we scored a goal and then we scored another. The emotion was there today I think."

NOTES: Stars C Remi Elie was sidelined by the flu. ... Stars D Marc Methot could be close to a return after missing 26 games with a knee injury. Hitchcock said Methot would go through a full practice Wednesday and might play Thursday. ... Blue Jackets C Artemi Panarin tied the club record for points and assists in a month, getting 18 and 13 in December. ... The Stars were in a scoreless game in the third period for the first time since a 2-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Dec. 15, 2016.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: At the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.

Stars: Host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday in fourth game of a six-game homestand, part of a stretch with nine of 10 at home.

Letang gets winning goal in shootout, Pens top Blue Jackets

By DAN SCIFO
Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan doesn't want to see Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang drop the gloves every game.

But a frustrating first two periods led to a breakout third and a shootout victory.

Letang scored the deciding goal in the shootout, and the Penguins beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Thursday night.

"When the game got a little nasty at the end of the second period, I thought it brought a lot of juice to our bench, especially our top guys in particular," Sullivan said.

Frustration boiled over for the Penguins' stars in the final minute of the second period.

Pittsburgh trailed 1-0 when Malkin was given five minutes for fighting Nick Foligno and Crosby got a roughing double minor against Seth Jones. Letang was also given a roughing minor and Columbus' Boone Jenner received a game misconduct for cross-checking.

Pittsburgh scored twice in the third period and Letang ended it in the fourth round of the shootout, beating Sergei Bobrovsky to the glove side after a series of dekes.

"(Crosby) told me that (Bobrovsky) was really patient, so I threw a couple moves at him, and he didn't move," Letang said. "I knew if I kept dragging the puck further, he would be deeper, so I would have the shot."

Cam Atkinson scored in the shootout for Columbus, but Matt Murray stopped Artemi Panarin, Jack Johnson and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Murray made 29 saves, while Bobrovsky stopped 39 shots. Malkin also scored for Pittsburgh in the shootout.

Patric Hornqvist and Malkin both scored their 12th goals of the season on the power play for the Penguins, who have two wins in their last three games following a three-game losing streak. Pittsburgh scored twice on the power play after a 0-for-15 slump.

Panarin and Pierre-Luc Dubois had a goal and an assist apiece for Columbus. Panarin has 14 points in his last 11 games and Dubois has 12 points in his last 13 games for the Blue Jackets, who have lost four of their last six. Columbus defeated Toronto a night earlier, but lost three of their previous four and allowed 20 goals during that span.

"I think it's just two teams with a lot of history," Foligno said of the Penguins and Blue Jackets. "Emotions are going to run wild. It's a game we both really wanted, and that's what happens."

Hornqvist tied it at 1-1 for Pittsburgh at 2:25 of the third period when he tipped a shot by Phil Kessel underneath Bobrovsky. Hornqvist played after missing Monday's game against Colorado with an upper-body injury. Kessel has points in nine straight home games and 27 of 36 games played this season for Pittsburgh.

Malkin briefly put Pittsburgh in front with a power-play goal. Bobrovsky made a blocker save on Crosby, but Malkin backhanded the rebound out of the air and into the net.

Columbus evened the score with a power-play goal just over a minute later, as Panarin scored with a wrist shot from the point.

"Whether it was 2-1 or 3-1, it doesn't matter, we were going to push until we tied the game," Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson said.

It was the first time the teams had played since Pittsburgh won a first-round playoff series in the spring. The teams have met in the first round of the playoffs two of the last four years, with Pittsburgh winning both times.

The emotion carried over and worked in Pittsburgh's favor on this night.

"They're competitive guys and it was a competitive game," Sullivan said. "It was a hard-fought game and sometimes emotions run high. The energy and emotion of the game ... that's as good as it's been this year for us, and I think that's when we play our best."

NOTES: Columbus is entering a stretch where it will play five of its next seven against Metropolitan Division opponents. Pittsburgh will play six of their next eight within the division. Entering Thursday night, just 10 points separated first and eighth place in the Metropolitan. ... Newly-acquired Jamie Oleksiak made his Penguins debut on his 25th birthday. The 6-foot-7, 255-pound defenseman, selected No. 14 overall in the 2011 draft, was acquired from the Dallas Stars in a trade on Tuesday. ... Penguins D Matt Hunwick played in his 500th NHL game. ... Blue Jackets D Zach Werenski missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury. ... Pittsburgh scratched D Ian Cole and F Tom Kuhnhackl.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Host Philadelphia on Saturday.

Penguins: Continue a three-game homestand Saturday against Anaheim.

Joonas Korpisalo, Blue Jackets beat Maple Leafs 4-2

By MITCH STACY
AP Sports Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Backup goaltender Joonas Korpisalo helped the Columbus Blue Jackets put a distressing loss at Boston behind them.

Returning home Wednesday night, Columbus topped the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2, with Korpisalo stopping 39 shots in one of his strongest games of the season.

Korpisalo played in just his eighth game, starting in place of Sergei Bobrovsky on the first night of a back-to-back.

"The guy that is the second goalie not only needs to play the games but needs to win games if we want to get where we want to go in April," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "Korpi has found his way here."

Seth Jones had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets, who never trailed in snapping a two-game losing streak - including the 7-2 rout at the hands of the Bruins two days ago. They moved into a tie for second place in a traffic jam of teams battling for the top spot in the tough Metropolitan Division.

Lukas Sedlak, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Alexander Wennberg also scored for Columbus, and Cam Atkinson had two assists.

"I thought the guys were really dialed in before the game," Korpisalo said.

Jake Gardiner scored in the second period and Mitchell Marner added another goal in the third for Toronto (21-14-1), which has lost four of its last five.

Former Blue Jackets goalie Curtis McElhinney, starting for Toronto in place of Frederik Andersen on the second leg of a back-to-back, had 33 saves.

"I just thought we didn't compete hard enough," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "Their team competed harder than us. There was no reason for us not to be ready here today."

Sedak opened the scoring for the Blue Jackets (21-13-1) in the first period. Matt Calvert gathered in the puck in the right corner and fired out to Sedlak, who spun and snapped it in off McElhinney's hip at the 12:57 mark.

Jones got a short-handed goal with 1:15 left in the period. He intercepted a pass in the defensive zone, carried the puck all the way and back and wristed it past McElhinney's glove for his sixth of the season.

"We needed to get our confidence back, I think, and that starts with just making simple plays," Jones said.

The Maple Leafs cut it to 2-1 at 4:26 into the second period after William Nylander knocked down a Columbus pass and set up Gardiner with a nice circle-to-circle pass.

The Blue Jackets answered with a power-play goal , with Cam Atkinson shoveling a rebound out from the back wall to Dubois, who tapped it in. Jones also picked up a helper on the goal.

Wennberg capped the scoring for Columbus in the third period, with Atkinson getting his second assist. Marner then made it 4-2 with about three minutes left.

The Maple Leafs were without top-scorer Auston Matthews, who missed his sixth game with an upper-body injury.

"We're not as good without (Matthews), obviously, but I didn't think that part was the issue, to be honest," Babcock said.

Top-line defenseman Zach Werenski sat out with an undisclosed injury for Columbus. Markus Nutivaara skated next to Jones in his place.

NOTES: Jones has three goals in the last four games...Scratches for the Maple Leafs were F Josh Leivo and D Martin Maraincin....Columbus recalled D Gabriel Carlsson from Cleveland (AHL) Wednesday, a day after sending F Tyler Motte back down...The Dubois goal was a rare power-play tally for Columbus, which is worst in the NHL with a man advantage. He has four goals and six assists in the last 14 games.

UPCOMING:

Toronto: At the New York Rangers on Saturday night.

Columbus: At Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

Bruins' youth too much for lifeless Blue Jackets

BOSTON -- The third period was more than half over and Charlie McAvoy still needed an assist for a Gordie Howe Hat Trick -- a goal, assist and a fight.

He got it at 12:30 of the period as he and other members of the Boston Bruins youth group were too much for the Columbus Blue Jackets to handle in a 7-2 rout on Monday night.

"Oh, man, it definitely wasn't on the list," McAvoy said. "I know that I try to play the game with a lot of passion ... and stuff like that's going to happen."

The fight was with Jackets rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois, the third pick in the 2016 draft -- McAvoy was drafted the same year by the Bruins at No. 16.

"It happened really quick," the defenseman said. "I felt like I was able to protect myself pretty well.

"I came from college hockey so there was no fighting. Nothing like that. But I knew that the way I play, I try and play hard, and I play on the physical side, sometimes you're going to have to answer the bell I guess."

Fellow Bruins rookies played key roles, as Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk both had a goal and two assists. Heinen has four goals and nine points in the last seven games.

Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Backes added a goal and an assist, each, and Torey Krug also scored for the Bruins, who snapped a two-game losing streak and finished 1-1-1 on a three-game homestand.

The Bruins scored four goals in a 6:20 span in the third period to reach a season-high for goals and take command of the game.

Heinen, Krug, Bergeron and DeBrusk scored late to complete the one-sided game. David Pastrnak assisted on the final goal, extending his points streak to a career-high 12 games and Ryan Spooner had two late assists.

Tuukka Rask was bidding for his second shutout of the season, but Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson converted a pass from Alexander Wennberg and snapped the shutout 8:32 into the third period. Seth Jones made it 7-2 in the closing seconds.

Rask, who is 6-0-1 in his last seven starts, made just 16 saves.

Sergei Bobrovsky, making his eighth straight start, made 38 saves and got little help from his teammates, falling to 2-5-2 lifetime against the Bruins (16-10-5).

The Blue Jackets have allowed a season-worst seven goals in two of their last four games.

"This one's inexcusable to me. There's absolutely no reason for a game like tonight," said Columbus captain Nick Foligno. "Especially, it's 3-1 with 11 minutes to go. We hadn't played great all night and we're still in it.

"To have that many goals unanswered, just the lack of emotion, the lack of care ... we were careless with the puck. It's almost like we were a deer caught in the headlights ... I'm at a loss for words, which doesn't happen often."

Marchand took a pass from Bergeron and scored his 14th goal of the season, extending his career-high points streak to nine straight games.

The Blue Jackets fell to 20-13-1 with their second straight and third loss in their last four games.

"We've got to keep our wits about ourselves and get better," said Columbus coach John Tortorella. "We gotta put some skin on ourselves here, take it on the chin like we did tonight and try to get better for out next game. That's all we can do ... right through our lineup we weren't good and this is the result."

NOTES: Columbus has allowed five power-play goals in the last four games. ... Bruins C David Krejci was a surprise no-show for warmups, then was declared out with an upper-body injury and will not travel to Buffalo for Tuesday night's game -- his 13th and 14th games missed this season because of what started as an upper back problem resulting from a slash. ... Boston D Adam McQuaid, out since Oct. 19 with a broken leg, is close to a return, which may come Tuesday night in Buffalo, when the Bruins will start Anton Khudobin in goal. He is 3-1-2 lifetime against the Sabres. ... The Blue Jackets host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.

Blue Jackets recover after blowing lead, KO Isles

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Blue Jackets gave away a three-goal lead but recovered by scoring twice in the second period and holding on for a 6-4 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena.

Zach Werenski, Markus Nutivaara, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Seth Jones, Nick Foligno and Josh Anderson each had a goal to help keep the Blue Jackets (20-11-1) in first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Josh Bailey had a hat trick and Casey Cizikas added a goal for the Islanders (17-12-3), who played for the third time in four days. Captain John Tavares had three assists for New York, which was were coming off a 5-2 loss at home to the Dallas Stars one night earlier.

Oliver Bjorkstrand had three assists, and Artemi Panarin and Wennberg two each for the Blue Jackets. Panarin has 12 points, including 10 assists, in the past seven games.

Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky picked up the win despite giving up four goals in the game and nine in his past two starts. He finished with 21 saves.

After the Blue Jackets were embarrassed on Tuesday night in a 7-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, they appeared to be releasing their frustration after jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first period.

But the Islanders rallied with three straight goals in the second to tie it. The Blue Jackets responded with two goals to end the period and reclaim the lead.

Bailey scored two of his three goals in the second, including one that tied it.

Jones' fourth goal of the season off a setup pass from Cam Atkinson put the Blue Jackets back in front at 15:03 of the second, and Foligno expanded the lead with a shot inside the post after taking a pass from Bjorkstrand.

Bailey's third goal pulled the Islanders within one goal at 7:11 of the third period. They pulled goalie Thomas Greiss inside the final two minutes, but Anderson sealed the outcome with an empty-netter with one second left.

Greiss made 29 saves for the Islanders.

The Blue Jackets opened a 1-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. Werenski was the beneficiary of a setup pass from Panarin that he one-timed past Greiss for his 10th goal of the season.

Less than three minutes later, it was 2-0 after Nutivaara scored his second goal of the season. He crashed the net after the puck bounced in the air off Greiss' pads and knocked it home.

The Blue Jackets expanded their lead at 15:52 of the first when Dubois lifted a long rebound from between the circles past Greiss.

NOTES: Blue Jackets F Brandon Dubinsky will miss six to eight weeks with a fractured orbital bone suffered during a fight near the end of Tuesday night's game against the Edmonton Oilers. Dubinsky leads the team in faceoff wins. ... Columbus called up C Jordan Schroeder from AHL Cleveland and put him on the fourth line. ... C Alan Quine replaced LW Anthony Beauvillier on the Islanders' fourth line. ... Blue Jackets D Ryan Murray remains sidelined with an upper-body injury. He has missed the past eight games but is skating again. ... Islanders G Thomas Greiss started for the first time since he gave up six goals against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 5. Greiss entered Wednesday night's game in the second period after G Jaroslav Halak was pulled. ... D Jack Johnson became just the third defenseman to play in 400 career games with the Blue Jackets. ... Islanders F Jason Chimera has the longest current consecutive games streak in the NHL at 220. Teammate Jordan Eberle is second with 182 straight games.

Oilers rout Blue Jackets, 7-2

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Edmonton Oilers have been trying to find themselves after a disappointing first two months of the season and their game might be starting to come around.

The Oilers capped a 2-1 road trip with a convincing 7-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena.

Mark Letestu scored a short-handed goal and had an assist, and Connor McDavid energized the Oilers with a goal and three assists to lead the assault against the Blue Jackets, who are tied for first place the Metropolitan Division.

The Oilers (13-16-2) started their trip with a similar performance -- a 6-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens -- and then lost 1-0 to the Maple Leafs in Toronto despite unleashing 41 shots.

"You hope it confirms they're turning the corner and putting some things together," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "We're stringing good games together. It's been a goal of ours for a while and I think we did that on the trip.

"I was concerned today because we didn't get the reward in Toronto. Sometimes a team that hasn't won enough can sag, but we responded emotionally and were prepared to play."

Edmonton wasn't expected to be mired near the bottom of the Pacific Division standings after finishing last season as one of the best teams in the Western Conference. But they're starting to see positive signs, particularly from McDavid.

After battling illness during the early part of the season, McDavid is looking more like his superstar self. He assisted on two second-period goals and capped the evening with another assist and then the final goal of the game.

"Three solid games in a row now," said McDavid, whose has a team-leading 39 points. "We can definitely feel good about that."

But McDavid wants to see more consistency from the Oilers, who are 6-5 in their last 11 games. Their recent pattern has been to follow a win with a loss.

"We've had streaks where we've been alright," McDavid said. "We need to see it more. We need to see three, four, five, six (good games). We don't have many games to give away anymore."

The Oilers pounced on the Blue Jackets and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. They jumped ahead in the first period with a goal from Zack Kassian and the lead ballooned to 5-0 in the second with a four-goal onslaught.

"We knew we had to get that goalie early," Letestu said. "When (Bobrovsky) feels the puck early and settles in, he's really tough to beat. It was good to get up a good start."

Two of the second-period goals came from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Milan Lucic on power plays. Matt Benning scored at even strength, and Letestu's second short-handed goal of the season beat Bobrovsky with 0.3 of a second left in the period on a breakaway.

"We were sloppy with the puck," Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. "It was just a lack of focus we had tonight that we normally have. It's disappointing. We haven't been beat like that all year. We obviously played into their hands big time and we didn't do much to generate anything."

Jesse Puljujarvi and McDavid capped the Oilers' explosive offensive night with third-period goals.

Oliver Bjorkstrand ended Laurent Brossoit's shutout bid at 6:28 of the third period, and Jack Johnson added the other goal for the Blue Jackets (19-11-1).

"It started to unravel for us real quick," Johnson said. "You're in a deep hole. We tried to push it in the third period and you open yourself up."

Brossoit finished with 28 saves to post just his third victory of the season while starting his seventh straight game in place of injured goaltender Cam Talbot.

"Maybe it's our time right now," McLellan said. "You go through dry spells and sometimes you score a lot. Right now, we're finding the net."

The Blue Jackets left Bobrovsky out to dry with defensive breakdowns and turnovers. He was pulled after two periods, having stopped just 21 of 26 shots. Backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo gave up two goals and made 10 saves in the third period for the Blue Jackets, whose two-game winning streak ended.

Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella respectfully refused to be interviewed after the blowout loss.

"There's no sense in me evening trying to answer questions about this evening," he said. "So sorry about that. Have a good night."

NOTES: Oilers C Connor McDavid has 16 points in his last 11 games. ... Blue Jackets G Sergei Bobrovsky leads the NHL in shutouts with four after he blanked the Arizona Coyotes 1-0 on Saturday night. ... Blue Jackets D Ryan Murray missed his seventh consecutive game with an upper-body injury. ... Oilers LW Anton Slepyshev returned to the lineup after being scratched for four games. He replaced LW Drake Caggiula. ... Blue Jackets LW Cam Atkinson was back in the lineup after sitting out the Saturday night game as a healthy scratch. The team's leading scorer the past two seasons had no points in the previous six games. ... Oilers C Mark Letestu, who reached 200 career points with an assist on Saturday against Montreal, has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his past seven games.

Devils stymie Blue Jackets, take Metro lead

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A third of a way through the season, the New Jersey Devils are perched atop the Metropolitan Division.

The Devils moved past the Columbus Blue Jackets in the standings Tuesday night with a convincing 4-1 victory at Nationwide Arena.

Taylor Hall and Stefan Noesen scored second-period goals to break a tie and the Devils (16-7-4) rebounded from a 5-0 shellacking at Arizona on Saturday night, closing out a three-game road trip with a 2-1-0 record.

"I thought tonight was a good response," Devils coach John Hynes said. "We had talked to our guys about their competitive level and being strong on the puck."

Travis Zajac scored his first goal of the season in the first period, Jesper Bratt added a third-period goal and had an assist, and Nico Hischier collected two assists for the Devils.

Hall broke a 1-1 tie at 4:47 of the second period with his ninth goal of the season before Noesen gave New Jersey a two-goal lead with his second of the season.

Noesen reached into the crease after a shot trickled behind Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky with 45.1 seconds remaining in the second period just after a New Jersey power play ended.

"The way things have been going lately, we kind of got together collectively and raised our complete level," Devils center Brian Boyle said. "Then our second period was really good and our third period was really good."

The Blue Jackets (17-10-1) had no response. The loss was their second in a row and ended a five-game home winning streak.

"Jersey gets spanked 5-0 in their last game (and) you know they're going to come (strong)," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "They're a good team."

Nick Foligno scored the Blue Jackets' goal in the first period with assists from Oliver Bjorkstrand and Seth Jones.

"I thought we had a good start, a good first period," Tortorella said. "I haven't seen it happen that often with our team, but we were outworked. They were more tenacious, and the result is what we deserve."

Bobrovsky was in goal for each of the Blue Jackets' back-to-back losses. He had 32 saves against New Jersey.

Cory Schneider finished with 41 saves in his 100th win for the Devils.

"They come out hard in their building and Schneids is great," Boyle said. "We got contributions from a lot of different guys."

Hall and Zajac were two of those guys.

Zajac's goal at 4:24 of the first period opened the scoring and was his first point of the season. Hall added an assist to give him a team-leading 29 points this season.

Since returning from pectoral surgery, Zajac had been struggling and Hynes took him off the power play to focus on five-on-five play.

"We're trying to help Travis get going," Hynes said. "It was nice to get him rewarded."

The Blue Jackets can't seem to get their power play going. The league's worst power play by far, with only seven goals this season, was unable to convert on six chances against the Devils. The home fans booed their efforts.

"It's a little frustrating," Jones said, "But we've kind of done it to ourselves a little bit."

NOTES: The Devils and Blue Jackets play the second game of a home-and-home series Friday night at New Jersey. ... D Steven Santini, scratched in the past two games, replaced D Ben Lovejoy in the Devils' lineup. ... Blue Jackets LW Sonny Milano was sent to Cleveland of the American Hockey League because of a rosters numbers issue after LW Matt Calvert returned from the injury list. Milano has five goals and 10 points in 24 games for Columbus this season. "Sonny will be back. He's going to be part of his team," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. ... Dale Earnhardt Jr., the recently retired NASCAR driver, dropped the ceremonial first puck.

Blue Jackets score twice in shootout to top Hurricanes 3-2

By ROBERT DENHARD
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Joonas Korpisalo doesn’t get many starts as the backup to the league’s top goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky. On the ice for the Blue Jackets for the first time in three weeks, he made it count.

Korpisalo made 29 saves in regulation and overtime, and Cam Atkinson and Artemi Panarin scored in the shootout to give Columbus a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night.

Korpisalo maintained solid positioning as Carolina misfired on its two shootout attempts.

“I thought it was going to be fun. I like shootouts,” said Korpisalo, who made his fifth start. “The boys scored both goals and the easy part was left for me.”

Bobrovsky, a two-time Vezina trophy winner, leads the league this season in save percentage and goals-against average. Korpisalo has twice been sent to Columbus’ AHL affiliate to see game action.

“I liked our game. I thought everybody contributed, and I’m thrilled for Korpy,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “For him to get a win — I guess as your second goalie — and where he’s going back and forth to Cleveland to stay sharp, I’m thrilled for him. I think the organization handled it so well.”

Zach Werenski had a goal and an assist, and Josh Anderson also scored for the Blue Jackets, who won their first game after their season-best six-game winning streak ended. Columbus has won five in a row at home.

Noah Hanifan scored in the first period for Carolina, and Brock McGinn tied it midway through the third. Scott Darling had 36 saves for the Hurricanes, who had gone 6-3-1 in their past 10 games.

Columbus outshot Carolina 5-2 in overtime.

“The third period was our best period,” Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. “It was a battle all night. We didn’t execute very well, but then the best part of our execution and the best part of our game was the third.”

Down a goal and starting to find more open ice in the third period, McGinn sent a shot from the slot past Korpisalo for his sixth goal this season.

Anderson put Columbus on the board early in the opening period with his team-leading ninth goal, converting a 2-on-1 one-handed feed from Pierre-Luc Dubois.

The Hurricanes took advantage of an odd-man break of their own when Columbus defenseman Scott Harrington got caught up the ice. Hanifan finished it off with his fourth at 7:41.

Columbus struck quickly again in the second period to pull ahead 2-1 when Werenski placed a wrist shot from the right circle over Darling’s glove. Alexander Wennberg, out the last six games with an injury, pulled up inside the blue line and sent a cross-ice pass to set up Werenski.

“Great goaltending, that’s the key right there,” Wennberg said. “When it comes down to getting the extra point, they’re huge. Every game makes a difference.”

NOTES: Tortorella became the third coach to win 100 games for Columbus. ... Carolina kicked off a stretch of playing 10 of 12 games on the road. ...The Blue Jackets are 8-0-1 in games beyond regulation.

UP NEXT

Columbus: The Blue Jackets host Anaheim on Friday.

Carolina: The Hurricanes visit the Rangers on Friday.

Price makes 37 saves, Canadiens end Jackets' streak at 6

Associated Press

MONTREAL (AP) — With Carey Price in net, Brendan Gallagher figures other teams must find a two-goal cushion insurmountable.

Price made 37 saves, Gallagher got his 10th goal and the Montreal Canadiens ended the Columbus Blue Jackets’ six-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory Monday night.

“When you’re able to get a two-goal lead, it’s tough to score on Price,” Gallagher said. “The other team has to score three on him, and that’s tough to do on any given night.”

Jonathan Drouin scored in the first period and Andrew Shaw had an empty-net goal for Montreal in Price’s second straight victory since returning from injury.

Rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois scored for the Blue Jackets, who lost for the first time since Nov. 10. Sergei Bobrovsky had allowed just six goals on Columbus’ winning streak but gave up two on 27 shots.

It was the second regulation loss for the Blue Jackets in 10 games against Atlantic Division opponents this season.

Coming off a 3-0 win against Buffalo on Saturday, the Canadiens picked up where they left off.

Montreal scored on its first two shots against Bobrovsky, the league leader in save percentage and goals-against average.

Gallagher capitalized on a giveaway by Cam Atkinson for the first at 3:11 with a sharp-angle shot, his 200th career point. Gallagher had 10 goals in 64 games last season.

Drouin doubled Montreal’s lead with a power-play goal at 8:10. Using Shaw as a screen, Drouin roofed the puck with a slap shot from the faceoff dot for his first goal since Nov. 5, ending an eight-game goalless drought.

Shaw added the empty-netter with 1:24 remaining in the game.

Price followed up his shutout performance against the Sabres with some jaw-dropping stops to deny the Blue Jackets. He sprawled for two quick pad saves on captain Nick Foligno five minutes into the game, the first coming when Price had his back to the puck. Midway through the second period, the Canadiens goalie denied Boone Jenner twice in quick succession from the crease.

“He was unbelievable,” Shaw said. “He battled for us, competed for us and made some big saves. It’s great to have him back.

Columbus outshot Montreal 18-7 in the second period, and Dubois scored at 16:08. He crashed the net and poked a loose puck past Price. Montreal coach Claude Julien challenged the play for goaltender interference, but the goal stood.

“They got two goals in the first and that really got us,” Dubois said. “We fought back, but it was too little too late. The first period really hurt us. Our compete level wasn’t high enough. Bob (Bobrovsky) kept us in the game but we couldn’t get more goals.”

NOTES: Canadiens D Shea Weber missed his fourth consecutive game with a lower-body injury. ... Columbus beat Montreal 2-1 in overtime earlier this month (Nov. 14).

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Host Carolina on Tuesday night.

Canadiens: Host Ottawa on Wednesday night.

Blue Jackets top Sabres 3-2 for 4th straight win

By JONAH BRONSTEIN
Associated Press

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The Columbus Blue Jackets keep finding ways to win close games.

Sergei Bobrovsky made three of his 30 saves on a power play in the final two minutes, and the Blue Jackets beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Monday night for their fourth straight victory.

Rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois, Artemi Panarin and Boone Jenner scored for the Blue Jackets. Markus Nutivaara had two assists.

Columbus had a 1-0 lead entering the third period in each of its last four victories. The Sabres made a late push, but the Blue Jackets held on.

“It doesn’t matter how you finish,” Bobrovsky said. “The most important part is the end result and we got two points.”

Bobrovsky made his biggest save when he slid across the crease to kick away a Ryan O’Reilly one-timer with 1:49 remaining. Bobrovsky got a piece of Kyle Okposo’s shot off the rebound and the puck trickled across the goal line while Okposo fell into the net.

Officials blew the whistle before the puck crossed the line, and the decision remained in place after a video review.

“That’s no goal,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “And if they call it a goal, it’s goalie interference.”

Buffalo dropped its sixth straight game. Evander Kane and Sam Reinhart scored for the Sabres, and Robin Lehner stopped 25 shots.

Sabres coach Phil Housley shuffled his lines, putting star center Jack Eichel with third-line wings Jason Pominville and Zemgus Girgensons and sending the group out for the second shift.

Housley downplayed the switch, saying it was not a demotion for Eichel, who had one point in the previous 11 games. Eichel led the Sabres with five shots on goal and assisted on Kane’s goal. He was on the ice for 20:54, up from his 20:37 average that leads Sabres forwards.

“Jack was very determined tonight and you could see it,” Housley said. “I really liked the speed that Jack brought tonight.”

The Blue Jackets scored first for the fifth straight game when Dubois collected a loose puck in the slot and lifted a wrist shot over Lehner four minutes into the second period. Oliver Bjorkstrand set up Dubois’ third goal of the season with a pass from behind the net.

Panarin scored his fifth on a high wrist shot from the right circle 5:47 into the third. Jenner added his third goal of the year on a play in front of the net midway through the period.

Buffalo battled back in the final 11 minutes.

“I am not going to pick apart the team,” Tortorella said. “It’s just a natural thing that happens when you get up three goals, you just give a little bit. Quite honestly, when you end up winning the game, I think it’s good the team goes through it.”

Reinhart scored 13 seconds after Jenner’s goal, deflecting in Victor Antipin’s shot from the point to end a 117-minute shutout streak for Bobrovsky. Kane scored his 12th of the season on a wrist shot from the left circle with 3:32 remaining.

“I know we’re capable of playing like that,” Kane said. “It’s a mindset. It’s an attitude. . We score two goals tonight but we didn’t get our first goal until the 10-minute mark of the third period. So we’re not creating enough offensively.”

NOTES: Blue Jackets D David Savard returned to the lineup after he was a healthy scratch in Friday’s win over the New York Rangers. ... Blue Jackets C Lukas Sedlak is close to returning. Sedlak has missed 13 games with a high-ankle sprain. ... The Sabres have not allowed a goal on 26 opponent power plays at home this season. ... Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno has gone 12 games without a point, tying for the second-longest streak of the forward’s career. His last point came when he scored in a win over Buffalo on Oct. 25. ... The Blue Jackets are 10-1 when allowing two goals or less.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Host Calgary on Wednesday night.

Sabres: Host Minnesota on Wednesday night.

Bobrovsky, Blue Jackets blank Rangers

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Goals have been hard to come by lately for the Columbus Blue Jackets, but it doesn't matter when a team has a goaltender playing as well as Sergei Bobrovsky. 

Bobrovsky was outstanding again and the offensively challenged Blue Jackets won their third straight game, holding off the New York Rangers for a 2-0 victory on Friday night at Nationwide Arena.

Zach Werenski and Artemi Panarin each scored a goal for the Blue Jackets (12-7-1) and Bobrovsky finished with 36 saves in his second shutout of the season and the 21st of his career.

Brandon Dubinsky, Boone Jenner and Oliver Bjorkstrand each had an assist for the Blue Jackets.

In the Blue Jackets' last three wins, all with Bobrovsky minding the net, he has given up a combined two goals in a shootout, an overtime game and Friday night's shutout.

"He's been there for the past few games," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "Just not a lot of run support. What can you say? He wins the Vezina last year. He is what he is. He is that good."

Henrik Lundqvist was nearly as good as Bobrovsky in goal. The Rangers goalie stopped 40 shots.

"I thought he played well," Lundqvist said of Bobrovsky. "But we really didn't test him that much. We didn't create the big chances. To beat him obviously you need to make it really tough on him and be in his face."

The Rangers (9-9-2) lost their second straight after a six-game win streak ended Wednesday night in a 6-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. They also were 0 of 3 on their suddenly struggling power play, which had been so good until the last two games.

"It was a hard-fought game," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "We're going into the third in a tough building against a good team. We're only down by one goal. We've had some good looks. We haven't been able to beat their goaltender.

"And then we made a bad mistake on the penalty kill on a puck that should have been down the ice. Instead of being a one-shot game now it's a two-shot game against a goaltender that's obviously got his game tonight. That make it pretty hard."

Vigneault was referring to Panarin's power-play goal at 7:14 of the third period that gave the Blue Jackets a two-goal cushion. His laser shot beat Lundqvist glove side for his fourth goal of the season.

The Blue Jackets entered the game with the worst power play in the league but went 1 of 3.

"I thought tonight we got back to who we needed to be a little bit more," Dubinsky said. "Now it's just about trying to be consistent with it. You can see what we can do."

New York pulled Lundqvist with more than three minutes remaining in an attempt to close the gap but failed to put one past Bobrovsky.

"In the end, when a goalie is playing well like that, we try and emphasize making it hard on him and putting bodies in front of him," Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. "At the same time, we have to create shooting lanes. They did a good job of blocking shots."

Werenski's sixth goal of the season was the first of the game at 13:34 of the second period. Dubinsky made a beautiful move to avoid a defender and sent a setup pass to the skilled defenseman Werenski, who went top shelf with the one-timer past Lundqvist's blocker.

Werenski had scored the game-winner in overtime on Tuesday in the Blue Jackets' 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

"I thought we played well," Werenski said. "That was the game we needed. That was the team we are. It was a huge game for us. We're going to look to continue that moving forward."

NOTES: RW Cam Atkinson signed a seven-year, $41.125 million contract extension with the Blue Jackets on Friday. The 28-year-old has four goals and two assists this season. He scored a career-high 35 goals last season. ... Blue Jackets C Zac Dalpe was activated from injured reserve and sent to Cleveland of the American Hockey League. Dalpe has missed the past four games with an upper-body injury. He has 13 penalty minutes in 10 games this season. ... Rangers D Brendan Smith returned to the lineup after sitting out six games as a healthy scratch. Smith signed a four-year, $17.4 contract this summer but has dressed for only 12 of New York's 20 games. ... Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist made his eighth straight start.

Bobrovsky aims to keep Jackets afloat vs. Rangers

Stats, LLC

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Without the stellar goaltending of Sergei Bobrovsky, the Columbus Blue Jackets would be in a tailspin.

While the Blue Jackets struggle offensively to find an identity and the right forward combinations, Bobrovsky is largely responsible for pulling the team out of a four-game losing streak.

The Blue Jackets (11-7-1) enter Friday night's game against the New York Rangers (9-8-2) at Nationwide Arena with a two-game win streak on the strength of Bobrovsky's play in the net.

Bobrovsky was superb in a 2-1 shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday that ended the Blue Jackets' skid, and then again in a 2-1 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.

"Your goaltender has to do it," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "I mean, a couple saves Bob made in the third period, and put that with the save he made in Detroit, it's a big reason we're getting points.

"Teams go through it, and a goaltender has to stand in there, and Bob has been terrific for us, to give us the opportunity."

That's because the Blue Jackets are struggling mightily to score goals. They have one goal in regulation in the past four games. They haven't scored on the power play in six games, going 0 of 15.

Their power play is the worst in the NHL at 9.6 percent.

"It's obvious we have a lot of guys struggling," Tortorella said.

Defenseman Zach Werenski bailed out the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night with his overtime winner. It was his fifth goal of the season.

Tortorella has tinkered with the power play to find the right combinations. At Thursday's practice, he moved Werenski from the first to the second unit.

"We're put in a position to succeed on the power play, and we haven't," Werenski said. "It's kind of surprising, but I think moving forward we're just going to stick to what we know. Simplify it, shoot pucks and I'm sure we'll find the back of the net sometimes."

The Blue Jackets are hoping that forward Jordan Schroeder, called up this week from Cleveland of the American Hockey League, can provide an infusion of energy on the third and fourth lines.

Schroeder was acquired this summer from the Minnesota Wild but suffered an upper-body injury during training camp and then was slowed by a virus while on the conditioning stint with the Monsters.

"I'm finally feeling good on the ice," said Schroeder, who has 17 career goals (six last season) and 40 points with the Wild and Vancouver Canucks.

The Rangers were on a roll before their six-game winning streak ended Wednesday night with a 6-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. In the middle of their streak was a 5-3 victory over the Blue Jackets on Nov. 6.

In the streak-busting loss at Chicago, the score was tied at 1 entering the third period before the dam broke loose and Artem Anisimov's hat trick chased Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

Lundqvist was disappointed with his performance, but he will be back in goal on Friday night. He has been a workhorse so far for the Rangers, starting 16 of 19 games.

"We're not in a great spot, we're not in playoff position even," Lundqvist said. "Obviously, you gain confidence from winning, no question about that. But you should have the same mindset if you're (winning) six in a row, or now 0-1."

Unlike the Blue Jackets, the Rangers haven't struggled on the offensive end or on the power play.

Rick Nash scored his fifth goal in as many games against the Blackhawks and Mika Zibanejad contributed his team-leading ninth goal in the loss.

New York's power play was an outstanding 8 of 19 during the win streak before going 0 of 3 against Chicago. Zibanejad has 10 power-play points to rank fourth in the league.

Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith is expected to play Friday night after a six-game benching. He will replace Steven Kampfer in the lineup, coach Alain Vigneault said.

Smith has no goals and just two assists in 11 games this season.

"Whenever you sit, for however long, you want to try to prove that you should be there on a day-to-day basis," Smith said. "I've been around the league long enough, I've seen it and understand it, I know when I'm playing my best, is when I'm letting the game come to me, and playing aggressive and making good reads and getting the puck out, and not try to force things."

Werenski scores in OT, Blue Jackets beat Canadiens 2-1

Associated Press

MONTREAL (AP) — Sergei Bobrovsky made one big save without his stick, then turned away Montreal captain Max Pacioretty three times in a row. As far as Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella is concerned, that’s why Columbus got two points on Tuesday night.

Bobrovsky made 28 saves, Zach Werenski scored 1:09 into overtime and the Blue Jackets beat the Canadiens 2-1.

Werenski beat Charlie Lindgren with a wrist shot to the glove side, converting after a few stellar stops from Bobrovsky in the third period.

Bobrovsky, without his stick, robbed Jacob De La Rose with a blocker save on a 2-on-1 five minutes into the period. Three minutes later, he made three consecutive saves on Pacioretty.

“That’s the key to winning in the NHL, your goaltender has to do it,” Tortorella said. “A couple of saves Bob made in the third period, that’s a big reason why we’re getting points. Bob has been terrific for us. He never gives. He’s an athlete.”

Josh Anderson had a goal 2:29 into the game for Columbus. Paul Byron got Montreal’s goal early in the third.

Lindgren, making his fifth consecutive start for Montreal, stopped 23 shots.

Anderson got his team-leading seventh goal after Montreal’s Brandon Davidson tipped Markus Nutivaara’s point shot right to Anderson. He let the puck drop before batting it past Lindgren. Davidson was also at fault seconds earlier when Nutivaara intercepted his failed clearance at the blue line. The goal came on Columbus’ second shot of the game.

Byron, playing his 300th NHL game, came close to equalizing midway through the second period. With the Canadiens playing short-handed, Byron stole the puck from Seth Jones at the blue line and moved in alone on Bobrovsky, but the Blue Jackets goalie got his pad on the shot.

Montreal finally broke through when Byron poked a loose rebound over Bobrovsky’s shoulder into the top corner of the net at 12:14 of the third.

“We don’t want to wait until the third period or when we’re down to put the foot on the gas,” said Pacioretty, who took a game-high seven shots on goal.

With forward Torrey Mitchell out with the flu, the Canadiens were forced to dress seven defensemen. Rookie Victor Mete played on the fourth line with De La Rose and Byron Froese.

NOTES: Earlier on Tuesday, the Canadiens claimed goalie Antti Niemi off waivers from the Florida Panthers. Carey Price (lower body) and Al Montoya (concussion) are still out with injuries. ... UFC middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre dropped the ceremonial first puck. ... Quebec-born Blue Jackets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois played his first NHL game at the Bell Centre.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Host the New York Rangers on Friday night.

Canadiens: Host Arizona on Thursday night.

Johnson, Blue Jackets beat Red Wings 2-1 in shootout

By BOB DUFF
Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — The last thing Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson expected as their shootout with the Detroit Red Wings dragged on was that he’d hear his name called.

When he did get the call, he got the job done.

Johnson scored in the ninth round of the shootout to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 victory over the Red Wings on Saturday night.

“I hadn’t done a shootout in a long time,” Johnson said. “You’re half watching for entertainment and half watching for just in case it goes a long way.”

Columbus stopped a four-game losing streak and halted Detroit’s run of 12 straight shootout victories.

On his winner, Johnson pulled the puck to his forehand and beat Jimmy Howard with a stick-side deke move.

“Howie was feeling it, he was really challenging, so I knew I was going to go down and deke,” Johnson said.

Artemi Panarin scored for Columbus in the first period, and Andreas Athanasiou replied for the Red Wings in the third period to send the game to overtime.

There wouldn’t have been a shootout if not for a spectacular save by Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky in OT. Detroit’s Anthony Mantha and Athanasiou broke in alone. Mantha slid the puck across to Athanasiou, who looked to have an open net, but Bobrovsky made a desperate lunge and got a piece of the puck.

“I just throw what I could and the puck hit my heel,” Bobrovsky said. “It was good but you’re not going to make that every night.”

The game was barely underway when the Blue Jackets grabbed the lead. The Wings got caught flat-footed when Darren Helm turned it over during a line change. David Savard chipped the puck past two Detroit defenders along the boards and it ended up on the stick of Oliver Bjorkstrand, whose quick feed to the front of the net was deflected in by Panarin at 1:07 for his second goal in the past 14 games.

The Wings tied it at 6:11 of the third period. Niklas Kronwall whipped a cross-ice pass to Athanasiou, who snapped a quick shot past Bobrovsky.

“He found me in the open spot and I had the open net,” Athanasiou said. “It was a great look by Kronner.”

Columbus forward Josh Anderson was awarded a penalty shot with 42 seconds left in the first period after being hooked by Mike Green on a breakaway. Anderson tried to beat Howard glove side but he reacted in time to make the save.

The Wings, who played 12 of their first 17 games on the road, fell to 2-3-1 in their new home at Little Caesars Arena.

“We wanted to make sure we didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “We did with the first goal, so that’s something we’ve got to keep working on, but I thought overall we had some real good pushes.”

NOTES: LW Justin Abdelkader (fractured cheekbone) missed the game for the Red Wings. Abdelkader suffered the injury in Thursday’s loss at Calgary and is scheduled to see a specialist on Monday. . Detroit D Danny DeKeyser (sprained ankle) missed his 15th consecutive game. Blue Jackets C Zac Dalpe (upper body injury) missed his third straight game. . LW Matt Calvert (upper body) and C Lukas Sedlak (ankle) are on injured reserve. ... Linesman David Brisebois fell and hit his head on the ice 1:17 into the game. He left the ice under his own power and returned to the game at the 7:51 mark of the first.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Visit Montreal on Tuesday night for their first game this season in Canada.

Red Wings: Host Calgary on Wednesday night in the second of five straight games at home.