Labatt Blue What We Learned: CBJ 4, VAN 3 (OT)

John Tortorella has been around long enough to know that, over the course of an 82-game schedule, there are going to be lapses and tests.
He wants his team to win every game, making him no different from any other coach, but he was waiting for the Blue Jackets to be challenged in a third period like they were Sunday afternoon in Vancouver. At the end of a long road trip and desperately wanting to finish it off with a 3-0-0 record, the Canucks became the first team in eight games to score a third-period goal against them.
And they didn't just score one - they scored three.

With a 2-0 lead going into the third period, where they've been so dominant, the Blue Jackets saw their lead dissipate quickly and fell into a 2-2 tie late in regulation. Brandon Saad's go-ahead goal with 4:39 left looked like it would seal the deal, but Jannik Hansen used a fortuitous deflection with the goaltender pulled to tie the game and force overtime.
Columbus needed one good chance, and it was a 2-on-1 with Cam Atkinson down the left side and Seth Jones roaring down the right. Atkinson slipped a pass to Jones at the moment of truth, and Jones redirected the puck through Ryan Miller's pads to send the Blue Jackets home with their ninth straight win to tie the franchise record.
Happy 500th, Torts.
"This isn't a bad thing for us to have happen right now - we haven't had much adversity (in the third period), mostly because of our play," Tortorella said. "I don't think we bent at all. I think it forced us to attack even more."

Here's what we learned:
History for Torts: Tortorella has told anyone who asked that getting his 500th career win didn't mean all that much to him, but when his coaching career is in the rear-view mirror, he will find himself in rarified air among NHL coaches. Today's win was his milestone victory, making him the first-ever American coach to win 500 games. Captain Nick Foligno presented him with the game puck in the locker room and it was met with a loud round of applause from the players and support staff. It's a team effort, he will say, but this achievement is another addition to a decorated career that includes a Stanley Cup championship and multiple international/Olympic experiences.
"I'm happy for him," Foligno said. "He says it doesn't mean (crap), but it's a lot of wins. We're really happy to have him at the helm here. Right now, he's in the moment and we all are, but he'll reflect when he's older that it's a hell of a milestone. As a group, it's gratifying to be part of that."

Tortorella relented, if only for a minute, in his post game press conference.
"I don't think it's an individual thing, wins and losses - it's a team thing," Tortorella said. "I've been so privileged to have the opportunity to coach as many games as I've had, and to get this opportunity here with this club, that's what I'm so grateful for."
Power play ignites the Jackets: This game felt very much like an afternoon game in the first period. Both teams were slow out of the gate and there wasn't much going on for either side, but in the second period, the Blue Jackets used their red-hot power play to capitalize twice and take a two-goal lead. First it was Cam Atkinson burying the rebound from a Zach Werenski shot to make it 1-0, and a few minutes later, Scott Hartnell's deft between-the-legs pass to Saad set up Saad's first of two goals as the second power play unit cashed in.

A collective resolve: Parts of the third period could have been troublesome for the Blue Jackets. They were outplayed at times and struggled to make plays through the neutral zone, but as they've done so often this season, they just kept after it. Saad's go-ahead goal was born from an excitable, dominant shift with line mates Wennberg and Foligno, and the pass from Wennberg across the crease after winning a battle down low was simply sublime. Despite the Canucks' late tying goal, the Blue Jackets picked themselves up heading into the overtime and, as previously mentioned, needed one play and one opportunity to end the game.
"When the bounces don't go our way, we stay even-keeled," Saad said. "We were confident. We were playing good hockey regardless of what the score was. We played through, played a full 60 and a little more."
"That's good for us to go through a little adversity," said Jones. "When they made it 2-2, we battled hard and turned the intensity up. (The late goal) is going to happen, but we found a way to get two points again."