FINAL: Blue Jackets 3, Hurricanes 2

The Blue Jackets claimed a 3-2 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night in Nationwide Arena.
Game in a Paragraph
Just as it did in Sunday's series opener, Columbus twice took leads only to see Carolina respond to tie the score, making it a 2-2 game going to the third. It stayed that way for much of the final frame until a highlight reel goal by Jack Roslovic gave the Blue Jackets the lead in the final five minutes, and the Jackets held on from there.

Quote of the Game
Head coach John Tortorella: "We were better in certain minutes of the game. We still have a lot to work on. I still think we're a terribly disjointed team in all facets, but the past two games, I think the effort has been there. I think we worked in the 6-5 loss (last night). I thought we worked hard tonight. But we have a lot of things to iron out."
CBJ Standouts

Quick Recap
After a frenetic first period that featured plenty of back and forth but not much in the way of shots on goal or chances, Columbus took a 1-0 lead with just 1:36 left in the period with Harrington's goal. Kevin Stenlund skated the puck behind the net and found Harrington in a shooting position at the top of the left circle, and the defenseman's shot hit Andrei Svechnikov in the shoulder, landed in the crease and bounded across the line before goalie Alex Nedeljkovic could dive behind him and cover it.
Yet another weird goal by Carolina made it a 1-1 game at 6:19 of the second period. Teuvo Teravainen intercepted a clearing attempt and tried to center it to the onrushing Nino Niederreiter at the front of the net; Korpisalo tried to beat him to the puck and poke it away, but that effort only sent the puck off Niederreiter's shin pad, then Korpisalo's shoulder, the post and finally off the goalie's skate before sliding into the net.
Columbus replied and retook the lead when Atkinson tallied on his penalty shot try 10:38 into the period. Seconds after a Carolina power play started, Atkinson appeared to be off to the races on a breakaway when he was hooked by Teravainen. On the penalty shot try, he faked to the backhand, switched back to the forehand and tucked the puck around Nedeljkovic to make it 2-1.

But as it has all series, Carolina responded quickly. Columbus killed the rest of the penalty, but moments later, a battle for a puck in the slot was won by the Canes when Warren Foegele put a shot on goal, with Korpisalo kicking the rebound to Brock McGinn, who dove to full extension to sweep the puck behind the CBJ goalie to make it 2-2 at 12:46.
Carolina had a chance to take the lead midway through the third on a 2-on-1, but Sebastian Aho was denied by the post with his shot before Korpisalo covered the puck. Shortly thereafter, McGinn had another chance, this one a point-blank look after a scramble, but Korpisalo turned it aside.
That just set the stage for Roslovic, who scored a beauty of a goal with 4:36 to go to give Columbus a 3-2 lead. He took a feed from Vladislav Gavrikov as he crossed center ice with speed, deked past two Carolina defenders at the blue line, broke in alone on Nedeljkovic and slipped the puck through the legs of the goaltender for a highlight-reel tally. Columbus then held on from there to improve to 6-5-3 on the year.
3 Takeaways
1. A Rosey goal: Whatever adjective you want to put on Roslovic's goal, it deserves it. What a way for the Columbus native to earn his first game-winning goal with the Blue Jackets, as he turned in a fantastic individual effort to give the home team the two points. It seemed like it was going to take a moment of individual brilliance to win it given how difficult scoring chances were to come by, and Roslovic delivered it. "I just saw open ice," he said. "We're trying to move the puck north and try to make a play at the net. Once it was back on my stick, I knew where I needed to go." Was it one of his better NHL goals? "Probably, yeah," the 24-year-old said with a smile. We're pretty certain it was, and it's hard to overstate just how big of a pickup Roslovic has been for the Jackets through seven games.
2. A shortened bench: If you're a person on the internet who cares about hockey, you probably have noticed this already, but two Blue Jackets players didn't skate in the third period. Defenseman Dean Kukan was held out for the last 33-plus minutes after his turnover in the leadup to the Niederreiter goal, while high-profile recent acquisition Patrik Laine didn't play the last 26-plus minutes after being on the ice for the second Carolina goal. Tortorella said Laine's benching wasn't related to the goal, noting, "There's a number of things that come into play with that. That will stay in the locker room." He later expanded: "It's what I feel I need to do. The last thing I want to do is bench a player. But as I answered your first question, we're just disjointed in all areas -- quite honestly both on and off the ice. It's an easy thing to bench a player. Honestly, that's the last thing I want to do, but if I think I need to do it then I need to do it. I did with Patty and I felt I needed to do it with Kuks where he was just struggling so bad. This came in from the last game too. Kuks has given us some really good hockey but the last couple of games, it's been a struggle." Let the takes begin, but Tortorella sees a team that just hasn't found itself yet and is trying to get it there however he can.
3. Going north: Carolina's identity is no secret, as the Hurricanes play a pretty simple game. Led by one of the best, most mobile defensive groups in the NHL, they want to attack, attack and attack, combining that blue line core with a fast, aggressive forecheck and a focus on getting pucks on net. That forecheck hemmed Columbus in for much of Sunday's game, and the focus tonight was to get the puck up the ice. The Blue Jackets still weren't perfect by any means, but it was an improvement from the first game between the teams. "I think we just wanted to play a north game instead of going D-to-D, forwards are flat-footed," Atkinson said. "I think we were coming back with speed. One of the main focuses today was just going north -- as soon as the D get it, quick up. We played a lot of it in their zone, which makes a huge difference instead of backchecking and being hemmed in our own end."
Notable
Stenlund now has three points (1-2-3) in three games played this season. … Atkinson's penalty shot goal was the first converted penalty shot for Columbus since Gus Nyquist's overtime winner Oct. 21, 2019, at Toronto. Columbus was 0-1 on the year on penalty shot tries, as Seth Jones was denied on an effort Jan. 18 vs. Detroit. … Atkinson was previously 1-for-3 on penalty shots, scoring Dec. 20, 2018, at New Jersey. He is now one of five players in CBJ history with multiple penalty shot goals (David Vyborny 4, Rick Nash 2, Brandon Dubinsky 2, Boone Jenner 2). ... Jones extended his point streak to four games (1-4-5) with an assist on the Roslovic goal. … A native of Parma, Nedeljkovic is the first goaltender from Ohio to start an NHL game in the state. ... Nedeljkovic finished with 19 saves. ... Each team was 0-for-1 on the power play. ... Columbus blocked 22 shots.
Roster Report
Columbus made two changes to the lineup, with Kevin Stenlund and Mikhail Grigorenko going into the lineup in place of Mikko Koivu and Liam Foudy. Those two were scratched along with defenseman Gabriel Carlsson and goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks (injury).
Up Next
Columbus trips to Chicago for a pair of games Thursday and Saturday.