Labatt Blue What We Learned: CBJ 5, BOS 4 (OT)

BOSTON - The Blue Jackets came into TD Garden on Monday seeking points more than revenge.
They wound up getting both, after Cam Atkinson took a feed in overtime from Ryan Murray and launched a wrist shot that beat Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask with 2:05 left in OT - lifting Columbus to a 5-4 big victory.
"We're a resilient group," said Atkinson, who scored the fifth OT goal of his career. "I don't think we played nearly our best. We found a way to just stick with it. We knew [the Bruins were ] banged up on the other side, but they've been finding ways to win, they're a good team and they know how to win. We just stuck with it and found a way to just chip away ... stick with it and it was a huge two points."
The Blue Jackets (40-28-5) won their eighth straight game, tying the third-longest winning streak in franchise history, and took the three-game season series from the Bruins (45-18-8), who'd beaten Columbus here, 7-2, on Dec. 18.
That was a very different time of the season, though, and a different Blue Jackets team. That group was reeling aand struggling to find its identity amid a sea of inconsistency. The team that skated out for Columbus on Monday was more confident, more resilient and just plain hungrier, with a second straight trip to the postseason still at stake.
That, plus a strong night in net by Joonas Korpisalo, is how the Jackets survived a game they were largely outplayed, fending off wave after wave of Bruins offensive attacks.
"That game belongs to 'Korpi,'" coach John Tortorella said. "He was just ... it could've been 9-4, so he was outstanding, as far as what he's doing now in the situation this team is in, and where he's upped his game."
It was the third straight win for the Jackets' second goalie, who'd dropped his previous three starts in a row and struggled through most of January and February. It was also the fourth overtime win of the season for Korpisalo, who was under seige most of the game.
"I think it's good," Korpisalo said. "You can see the team's battling in front of you and I don't want to let them down. It's good to get some wins. These are huge games for us."
Boone Jenner scored the game's first goal to give Columbus a 1-0 lead early in the first period, but from that point it became a battle to keep up with the Bruins. Boston scored three goals in the second, taking a 3-1 lead on goals by rookie Ryan Donato, Brad Marchand and Riley Nash, but Columbus didn't fold.
A goal by rookie Sonny Milano just 25 seconds after Nash scored made it 3-2 after 40 minutes, which set the stage for a wild third.
"You talk about trying to stop momentum, we had problems with it all night long, quite honestly," Tortorella said. "But when they go 3-1, and basically just totally outplaying us, to get back and at least give us a chance going into the third, that was important."
Thomas Vanek tied it, 3-3, early in the third with his second point of the game. Artemi Panarin then gave the Blue Jackets their second lead, 4-3, with a one-timer off a face-off, but it wasn't enough. Boston tied it, 4-4, on the ensuing shift, with Donato finding David Krejci with a slick backhand feed for the tying goal and his third point in his first NHL game.
The game went to OT, which guaranteed Columbus at least one point before Atkinson provided the second with a wicked wrister.
"I don't want to take anything way from the guys," Tortorella said. "I don't think we played well at all tonight, but they still found a way to score timely goals, make some key plays at key times, but let's face it ... we stole two points tonight."
Here's what we learned:

I: WHAT IT MEANS
The Blue Jackets pulled back into a tie with the Philadelphia Flyers at 85 points and maintained their position as the first wild card in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers are third in the Metropolitan Division on a tiebreaker, with one more win in regulation or overtime (35-34).
Columbus also stayed six points in front of the Florida Panthers, who defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-0 at the Bell Centre. Florida is one spot outside of a wild card in the East at 79 points and has three games in hand on both the Blue Jackets and New Jersey Devils - who hold the second wild card with 82 points.
II: MURRAY STEPS UP
They've played the past two games without defenseman Seth Jones, but the Blue Jackets have found ways to compensate and wins both games regardless.
It was Markus Nutivaara scoring the game-winner against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and Ryan Murray with two big primary assists against the Bruins. Murray, who'd been scratched in the game prior to facing the Senators, has played two good games since returning to the lineup in the wake of Jones' upper-body injury.
Murray, who was awarded the Kepi in the postgame locker room celebration, played the way he did to start the season -- before an upper-body injury sidelined him 35 games from Nov. 28 to Feb. 20.
His first assist looked like a shot from above the right face-off circle late in the second period, but went straight to Milano standing to the left side of the crease. Milano tapped it into the net for a goal that pulled the Blue Jackets within a goal, 3-2, less than a minute after Nash gave the Bruins a 3-1 lead.
"He's a crafty guy and we kind of just locked eyes," he said of Milano. "I think he knew that I saw him, so he just got open and showed me his stick. It was a heck of a play by him to get open, because a lot of times guys will just crash the net or whatever, but he got open [on the] back door."
Murray's second assist was a beauty to set up Atkinson's goal in OT Carrying the puck toward a defender in the slot, he slipped a pass to Atkinson in the left wing for the shot that ended the game.
"It was good to get out there for some 3-on-3," Murray said. "I haven't had too much this year, so it was good."
III: NO PANIC FROM VANEK
Vanek continued a trend that's had throughout his NHL career. The veteran forward picked up two more points against the Bruins with his goal and assist, which brought his career numbers up to 70 points (34 goals, 36 assists) in 64 games.
Vanek set up the game's first goal, scored by Jenner, and then tied it, 3-3, just 5:38 into the third period with his 20thgoal of the season and second since the Blue Jackets acquired him in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 26, shortly before the NHL Trade Deadline expired.
"I think Thomas Vanek has helped us," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "He's made some really good offensive plays for us and guys are just beginning to play better. So, hopefully it will continue."

IV: BOONE STAYS HOT
Jenner is making up for lost time offensively for the Blue Jackets and it couldn't come at a better time.
He's getting to the front of the net, putting shots on goal and - unlike most of this season - scoring goals. His goal in the first period, scored by deflecting a pass from Vanek past Rask, was his fourth straight game with a goal and fifth game in the past six with one.
It also boosted his point streak to a career-high six games and, more importantly, gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead 4:15 into the game. They only got four more shots on goal in that period, but the lead held up for the remaining 15:45 to give Columbus a lead starting the second.
Jenner who assisted on Vanek's goal, has eight points (five goals, three assists) during his point streak.

V: 'KORPI' COMES UP HUGE
Boston dominated the first period in shot attempts (26-13) and shots (14-5), but still trailed 1-0 because of Korpisalo's excellence in net.
The Finnish netminder was sharp from the opening puck drop to the first horn, turning away everything the Bruins put on goal - including six shots during their first of two power plays. During that man-advantage, Korpisalo made saves against Brad Marchand, Torey Krug, Ryan Donato and Matt Grzelcyk.
His stop against Marchand started the flurry and might've been his best of the bunch, coming out of the crease to cut down the angle on Marchand - who fired a hard wrist shot from the left face-off circle. Korpisalo soaked it up, squeezed it and froze the play dead.
He allowed three goals on 13 shots in the second, but also made a couple more big stops to keep the Bruins from breaking the game open - including a blocker save against David Pastrnak off an open shot from the slot that could've put the Bruins up 3-1 before Nash's goal.
He went save-for-save with Rask, who trains with Korpisalo in the offseason.
"I've been looking up to Tuukka since he came to the NHL," Korpisalo said. "He was the guy I was looking up to. It's fun to play against him, and other Finns too, and I think it's the first time I won against him. So, it feels good."

VI: THINK INSIDE THE BOX
Columbus had players sent to the penalty box four times in the first two periods, which wasn't too big of a problem … until it was.
The Blue Jackets killed off the first three, thanks in large part to Korpisalo's work in net, but the fourth one resulted in a power-play goal for Riley Nash that made it 3-1 with 3:28 left in the second period.
The man-advantage followed the second of back-to-back penalties called on defenseman Ian Cole, who was first called for tripping and then for high-sticking, which happened on the follow-through of a backhand clearing attempt in the corner of the defensive zone.
All four of the Blue Jackets' penalties in the first two periods were stick infractions, from slashing to tripping to Cole's high-sticking minor.

VII: THE BOSTON PLAGUE
The Bruins' list of injured players was large heading into the game. It even grew by one more prior to puck drop Monday, when it was announced that power forward Rick Nash was out with an upper-body injury and was day-to-day.
The former Blue Jackets' star joined cast of star players who are currently on the shelf for Boston. The injured are captain Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, David Backes, Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk and Nash.
Chara and McAvoy are the Bruins' top defense pair, while all four forwards have logged top-six minutes at points this season. Despite that lack of star-power, the Bruins controlled play for much of the game, outshooting the Blue Jackets 27-15 in the first two periods and leading 3-2 to start the third.

VIII: NEXT UP
The Blue Jackets will wrap up their 17th and final back-to-back against the New York Rangers on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden (7 p.m., Fox Sports Ohio, Fox Sports Go, 97.1 FM)
It will be the second game in a stretch of four games in six days for the Blue Jackets. The Rangers, who are 4-2-2 in March, haven't played since losing to the St. Louis Blues in overtime Saturday at Scottrade Center.
New York has 72 points and is not contending for a playoff spot.