Quote of the Game
Matt Duchene: "I think we had all four lines going tonight, everyone pulling in the right direction. Bob was great again. It's tough to find too much wrong with tonight's win, especially against a really strong team, one of the best teams in the west. I thought we did a lot of good things."
CBJ Notables
Quick Recap
Columbus didn't take long to get going as Atkinson scored 50 seconds into the game, taking a feed from Panarin in the right circle and beating Juuse Saros short-side to make it 1-0.
Nashville answered, though, making it 1-1 on a turnover by Josh Anderson while the Jackets were on the power play. Viktor Arvidsson intercepted a pass by Anderson, skated in alone, and beat Sergei Bobrovsky clean at 8:50.
The Blue Jackets retook the lead with 4:02 remaining in the first period as David Savard scored his fourth goal in the last eight games. It was a 6-on-5 goal as a delayed penalty had been called in Nashville, and Columbus took advantage as Markus Nutivaara made a sweet between-his-legs feed from the right wall to Panarin in front, and the Russian winger held the puck until he could find Savard coming down the slot for the quick finish.
It stayed 2-1 from there thanks to some big stops by Bobrovsky, who denied Craig Smith and Kyle Turris on the power play while Filip Forsberg hit the post. Colton Sissons then had a great chance on a one-timer, but Bobrovsky got big and stopped the shot with his shoulder. Panarin then grabbed the puck and went the other way, deking into the zone and finding the onrushing Bjorkstrand to rip a shot past Saros with 2.5 seconds left in the period.
Columbus held its 3-1 lead with a dominant 5-on-5 performance in the first 10 minutes of the second, but Nashville made it a 3-2 game as Forsberg scored his 27th goal of the year. P.K. Subban unleashed a shot from the right point, and Forsberg jumped on the rebound and beat Bobrovsky at 12:14.
But all that seemed to do was awaken the Jackets, who increased the lead to 4-2 just 1:14 later when Boone Jenner poked Dean Kukan's chip past rookie Dante Fabbro, collected it, skated in alone and beat Saros with a bar-down finish. Then at 15:44, it was 5-2, as Panarin fed Duchene for a shot and Atkinson buried the rebound from the doorstep.
Bobrovsky made a nice toe stop on Brian Boyle near the midway point of the third, one of his 23 saves on the night, and Columbus was able to finish off the game from there. Atkinson had a penalty shot with 4:47 left when he was slashed on a breakaway, but Saros denied his attempt to break the CBJ single-season goals mark.
By the Numbers
Columbus had a 32-25 shot advantage. ... Atkinson became the second Blue Jacket, joining Nash, to post 40 goals in a season. … Columbus won its second straight on the road and is now 22-14-2 away from home. … Panarin topped the 200 career assist mark, and his four assists are a season high for a Jackets player. … With two helpers, Duchene has five assists in the last three games. … Nutivaara has four assists in his last six games. … The Blue Jackets have now killed 84 of the last 92 opposing power plays (91.3 percent) after going 2-for-2 on the kill vs. Nashville. … Columbus swept the season series from the Predators. … Columbus went 0-for-5 on the power play.
Roster Report
Columbus made one change, with Scott Harrington going back in the lineup in place of the injured Adam McQuaid. Scratches were forwards Markus Hannikainen, Lukas Sedlak and Eric Robinson; defensemen McQuaid and Adam Clendening; and goaltenders Keith Kinkaid and Elvis Merzlikins.
Up Next
The Blue Jackets finish the quick two-game road trip Sunday night with a game at Buffalo that starts at 6 p.m.
