The Columbus Blue Jackets bounce back from giving up five straight in a loss against the Buffalo Sabres to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3. The win marks two franchise records for the Jackets- Wins, and points in a season, just 68 games in.
The Columbus Blue Jackets got out to a quick start on Monday netting two goals in the first period on the road against the Philadelphia Flyers. The goals mark career tying highs for both Sam Ganger and Cam Atkinson, the respective goal scorers. The lead however, wouldn’t last.
The Flyers would close the lead to one by the end of the first frame, with a goal coming off the stick of rookie center Travis Konecny, he would finish with two goals on the night. Philadelphia would score two more in the second to go up 3-2. But, like the Jackets first period lead, this one also would not last.
Just under three and a half minutes after Konecny’s second goal, Zach Werenski pocketed his tenth of the season, marking his second point of the contest. The Blue Jackets were assessed seven penalties in the second period, but killed six of those, and kept the game tied at three heading into the third period.
About halfway into the third, it was Brandon Dubinsky finding his tenth of the season on the power play. The Jackets would ride the lead, on the back of Sergei Bobrovsky’s 23 save night, and score an empty-netter late, to finish the game 5-3.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
| Flyers | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Blue Jackets | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
Record Breaking Game
In Monday night’s contest the Columbus Blue Jackets set a handful of records.
- Won their 44th game, a franchise record.
- Acquired heir 94th point, a franchise record.
- Off the sticks of Werenski and Dubinski, the CBJ now have 11 players with 10 or more goals this season, a franchise record.
- The win for Bobrovsky marks number 37, his single season record.
The most impressive to me, and the most important, is how many players are in the double digits for goals. You’ve heard it out of the mouth of head coach John Tortorella and the players, that the regular season success means very little in the grand scheme of things. The legacy of this team is going to be measured in their playoff success and that success is going to depend on the depth of this team. Depth, which is immediately apparent when you look at these numbers.
Related Story: Werenski Continues to Break Records
Looking Ahead
The win brings the Jackets within one point of the lead in both the Metropolitan division and the NHL. Right now the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins are tied with 95 points; the Jackets of course, have 94. But the Capitals are in a lull and the CBJ still have two head-to-heads remaining with them. Add on top of that one contest left against Pittsburgh, buckle your seat belts, because it’s going to be a wild finish.