What We Learned: PHI 2, CBJ 1

PHILADELPHIA - It's getting to be the expectation whenever the Blue Jackets play the Philadelphia Flyers.
There won't be a ton of scoring chances, there probably won't be many goals and you can count on the intensity being high from start to finish. That's the way it was for the first two games, played at Nationwide Arena in Columbus and split by both teams beyond regulation.
That's how it was again Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center, in the Jackets' first trip to Philadelphia this season.
Despite taking a 1-0 lead on Artemi Panarin's high-skill goal in the second period, the Blue Jackets lost, 2-1, after allowing two goals in the third period - including a key power-play goal scored by rookie Nolan Patrick at 9:49, seconds after Brandon Dubinsky was sent to the penalty box for tripping.
"They're a good team," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "I thought we played good tonight. I'm not going to pick apart the team because we didn't get 50 shots. This is the way these games are, and they're going to get tighter and tighter."
Claude Giroux scored the tying goal at 2:34 of the third for Philadelphia.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 18 saves for the Blue Jackets, whose offense has again fallen off. Since combining to score 10 goals in a pair of wins against the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 10 and New York Islanders on Feb. 13, they've scored two-or-fewer goals in four of the past five games, including the past four in a row.
They've scored two-or-fewer in regulation in 17 of their past 22 games, dating back to a 5-0 loss Dec. 31 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"It's extremely frustrating," forward Matt Calvert said. "We just can't find the rhythm. Even when we were pumping 50 shots at the net for those few games there, we were playing different style hockey teams. Toronto and New York, they're more run-and-gun, so you're going to get those opportunities, but we had a couple chances shorthanded tonight and we've got to put those in. I'm kind of sick of saying it. We've got to start doing it more."
Here's what we learned:

I: WHAT IT MEANS
The Blue Jackets hung onto the second wild card in the Eastern Conference with 65 points despite four other Metropolitan Division teams in action Thursday.
It wasn't a good night for the Metro, which had every team lose its matchup. The New York Islanders were the only team to make a move, up to 65 points, with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Blue Jackets have the wild-card spot via less games played than New York, which coughed up a 3-2 lead when Toronto's Auston Matthews tied it with 3:29 left in the third period, sending the game into overtime.
II: PANARIN NETS A MILESTONE
It wouldn't have been fitting had Panarin notched his 200th career point in the NHL on an empty-net goal or a tally at the end of a game that was already decided.
His goal at 12:51 of the second period had every element you'd want in a 200th career point.
It had skill, after he popped out of the penalty box and picked defenseman Andrew MacDonald's pocket off a point-to-point pass just inside the Columbus blue line. It had speed, after he took off the other direction with it for a 2-on-1. It had drama, after he ripped a wrist shot past Flyers goalie Petr Mrazek top shelf. It also had significance, giving the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead on his 78th career NHL goal and tying him with Josh Anderson for the team lead with 17 goals each.
"It's big," said Calvert, who helped kill off the too-many-men minor that put Panarin in the box. "We get a questionable 'too-many men,' I think, and the penalty kill goes again. Then he comes out of the box after serving it and puts the puck in the back of the net. That's what he does for us. Hopefully he keeps doing that and a few more of us can put some pucks in the back of the net."
Anderson and Panarin each missed the morning skate. Tortorella said a couple of players were "nicked," so there was some question as to whether either would play. Each was a gametime decision after taking warmup and skated in their usual spots on the first and third lines.

III: TRIPPED UP
Giroux cut sharply to the inside of Brandon Dubinsky on the penalty that led to the game-winning goal for the Flyers. Dubinsky stepped up to hit him, laid him out and then threw his hands in the air when forward Michael Raffl came over to confront him.
After a scrum of players was separated, Dubinsky headed to the box for tripping Giroux, as both special-teams units came onto the ice. Six seconds after the ensuing face-off, the puck was in the back of the Blue Jackets' net, after a blocked shot left the puck for Patrick to knock home.
Just like that, the Flyers had the lead, 2-1, on the first power-play goal Columbus allowed in a five-game stretch.
"I'm not so sure about the call," Tortorella said. "But they call it, and we needed to kill another one and we didn't."
IV: 'COHESION' KEY FOR PK
Until Patrick's goal, which was scored on Philadelphia's fifth power play of the game, Columbus had another strong night killing penalties. The Jackets killed the first four they faced, which ran their string of successful kills to 10 in a row including the previous four games.
"I thought our kill was doing a great job all the way up until they got the one," defenseman Jack Johnson said. "For the most part, I thought the guys killing penalties did a great job, and [Bobrovsky] was our best penalty-killer, which a goalie has to be."
Overall, the PK has looked a lot better since earlier this month, when the Blue Jackets sunk to the lower portion of the league rankings in kill percentage and allowed a power-play goal in seven straight games.
"You try to go just small steps at a time," Tortorella said. "You hope you see more cohesion, as far as your aggressiveness. That's the problem, is sometimes we were going [after shooters], [and] sometimes we weren't. Sometimes two guys were going, and other guys were sitting back. I thought there was better cohesion [Tuesday in New Jersey]."
V: COVER STORY
Bobrovsky needed to be sharp right from the start, as the Blue Jackets struggled to gain much time in the offensive zone during the first period. They did a good job defensively, limiting the Flyers to just seven shots, but only put two on net themselves.
They also leaned on Bobrovsky to bail them out a couple times, including a mini-break for Giroux at 7:10 of the period. Rookie center Pierre-Luc Dubois sent a cross-ice pass from the right-wing wall through the neutral zone and Giroux intercepted it.
He skated in alone against Bobrovsky, but the Blue Jackets' backstop denied a goal with his pads. Later in the first, with 4:25 left, Bobrovsky made another good stop off Sean Couturier's shorthanded wrist shot from the left-wing face-off circle, keeping the game 0-0.

VI: MEET THE NEW GUYS
Only one of them played, but the Blue Jackets had two new faces at their morning skate Wednesday. Forward Nathan Gerbe and defenseman Taylor Chorney each participated and began to meet their new teammates.
Gerbe, who played left wing on the fourth line, was recalled Wednesday from the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. He had 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 11 games for the Monsters, after signing a one-year, two-way NHL contract with Columbus on Jan. 24.
The 30-year old veteran, who played the past two seasons in Swirtzerland, logged 7:18 in his Blue Jackets debut.
"I'm optimistic," said Gerbe, a speedy 5-foot-4 winger. "I think my game has gotten better. Every day, I approach the day as, 'What can I do to get better,' on the ice or even if it's off the ice. I've been watching on TV, and it's a fast game. There's a lot of young players in this league, and on this team, and good young players. But for myself, I'm pretty confident in my skating abilities."
Tortorella is hoping that skating can put some juice into a fourth line that hasn't had Jussi Jokinen the past two games as a healthy scratch.
"That's one thing with [Gerbe]," Tortorella said. "He can be playing street hockey, he'll have hunger. That's just the way he's built. I told [Jokinen], [I'm] a little concerned about his speed, but also I just wanted to change the makeup of that line, and make it into a line that's going to go chase things down and cause some havoc. We've been keeping an eye on Gerbe, as far as his energy level down there. We've gotten great reports."
Chorney, who was claimed off waivers Wednesday from the Washington Capitals, was a healthy scratch. The 30-year old defenseman joined the team the same day he was claimed, taking a train from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia.
He's eager to prove himself again with a team that was a division rival
"It means everything," Chorney said. "I've grinded my whole career to get to the point where I can kind of be considered an everyday NHL guy, and this is just another opportunity, another chance to prove that."
VII: THIS AND THAT …
Gerbe played about three minutes more than linemates Lukas Sedlak and Zac Dalpe, who each played eight shifts for a total about roughly four minutes on the fourth-line. Dalpe logged 12 shifts in his Blue Jackets debut. … Johnson blocked the shot that led to the game-winning goal scored by Patrick but had another solid game aside from the unfortunate bounce. The veteran defenseman played 20:42, including 3:39 killing penalties, and had six hits. He also had five shots attempts and blocked six shots. … Defenseman Ryan Murray played 20:57, including 3:51 killing penalties in his second game back from a 35-game injury absence. … The Blue Jackets had four short-handed shots on goal and just one shot during two power-plays. … Columbus is now 17-6-5 in one-goal games, dropped to 21-8-4 when scoring the first goal and lost in regulation for just the fourth time when allowing two-or-fewer goals (25-4-1). … Panarin, who leads all NHL left wingers in average ice time (20:25), logged 19:43 against the Flyers.
VIII: NEXT UP
The Blue Jackets return home to host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday (7 p.m., Fox Sports Ohio, Fox Sports Go, 97.1 FM).
It will be the 12th game of the month for Columbus, but just the third against a team from outside the Metropolitan Division. The Blackhawks have won two of their past three games, after going 0-7-1 in eight games Feb. 1-15.