Labatt Blue What We Learned: CBJ 4, SJS 2

SAN JOSE, Calif. - It got a little bumpy down the stretch, but the Blue Jackets ultimately got the win they needed Sunday night at SAP Center.
Artemi Panarin scored two goals, Sergei Bobrovsky made 33 saves and the Blue Jackets reclaimed a playoff spot while salvaging a three-game road trip with a 4-2 victory against the San Jose Sharks.
Evander Kane, San Jose's big addition at the NHL Trade Deadline, made it interesting with a goal to make it 3-2 at 10:04 of the third period, but the Blue Jackets withstood the Shark's late push to tie it.
"Hey this is their home rink and they're on the road, we're comfortable in that spot," said Columbus captain Nick Foligno, who scored the game's first goal at 9:12 of the first period. "It's 3-2 on the road … man, you've got to find a way to be comfortable there. I thought tonight we found a way to be comfortable there and get a huge [empty-net] goal to ice the game."
Rookie Sonny Milano also scored for the Blue Jackets (33-28-5), who led 3-1 lead after two periods and sealed it on Panarin's second goal of the game and 20th of the season - an insurance goal scored into the Sharks' vacated net.
"We still had a little bit of the 'yips' with it," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "[Bobrovsky] made some key saves at that time of the game [after Kane scored], and then I thought we settled ourselves down."
Joonas Donskoi scored the first goal for the Sharks (35-22-9) late in the second period, after San Jose coach Peter DeBoer pulled starting goalie Martin Jones following Panarin's first goal at 5:32 of the second.
The Sharks applied some heavy pressure late in the second to tie it, but Columbus fended off that close-call too.
"You knew when they scored their goal late in the second period it was going to come down to a close game," Tortorella said. "We have opportunities to make it 4-0. [Cam Atkinson] hits the crossbar, we have a 3-on-1 [and] we don't capitalize there even with a shot on goal … you knew going into the third period they were going to push."
After Kane scored, the Jackets pushed back.
"It's [about], 'What are you doing to help us win?'" Foligno said. "I thought tonight, everybody did something to help us win and that's why we won the game. When you have that with our group, man, we're a dangerous team - a very talented, scary team that teams don't want to play like that. It's a good sign and hopefully guys take that to heart."
Here's what we learned:

I: WHAT IT MEANS
The Blue Jackets knew where they stood prior to the game, after the Florida Panthers downed the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1, in Sunrise, Fla., earlier in the day. The Panthers moved into possession of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference with 70 points, but Columbus reclaimed it with the win.
"I've seen the Florida score today," forward Matt Calvert said, prior to the game. "They beat a good Philly team, a hot Philly team right now and they've won six in a row. We definitely take a look at that and it just gives us that much more urgency to win. Every one of these is like the last game of the year, so we're going to be giving our best again tonight."
The Jackets, who have 71 points, also got some help within the Metropolitan Division. The other three Metro teams in action lost, including the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes.
The Devils, who hold the first wild card, stayed at 74 points after losing to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Hurricanes, who lost to the Winnipeg Jets, stayed 69 points, keeping them just outside the playoffs behind the Panthers and Blue Jackets.
II: 'PK' COMES UP BIG
The Sharks came into the game overdue for a power-play goal, after going 11 straight games without one (0-for-24). Columbus gave them four chances to end that skid - taking four penalties overall and three in the first period - but the Jackets' penalty-killing units snuffed each one out.
They got progressively more important as the game wore on, including the fourth one early in the third period. The Blue Jackets had a 3-1 lead when Ian Cole tripped Timo Meier. San Jose couldn't, again, and it turned out to be a huge kill for Columbus.
Kane scored eight minutes later to cut the Blue Jackets' lead to 3-2 with 9:56 left to play.
"Penalty-killing was the key, in that first period, taking three," Tortorella said. "I ended up icing a lot of guys. Three [games] in four nights, I was concerned. I wanted to use my whole bench and then we're killing penalties left and right. 'Bob' made some key saves, but our penalty-killers were good and have been good for quite a while here now. So, that's important."
The first one was also huge. Not only did the Blue Jackets keep the Sharks from scoring after Foligno was called for hooking, but they also went up, 1-0, seconds after Foligno got out of the penalty box and scored with a long-distance wrist shot.
III: 'BOB' BIG EARLY
Bobrovsky made 19 saves on 20 shots in the first 40 minutes, including a number of acrobatic stops and great glove saves to keep the Sharks at bay.
One of his most impressive sequences was 34 seconds into the game, when he fended off a high shot with his blocker and then barely got his left skate on a shot by Joe Pavelski off the rebound. The puck bounced to the right of the net, where Kane got to it for a shot he fired off the side of the net
Bobrovky also made back-to-back saves against Meier with 20 seconds left in the period, with Cole scooping the rebound of the second one in the crease and skating it out of trouble. Cole, who's played against Bobrovsky a lot with the Penguins, likes being on his team now.
"It's great," he said. "If there's a guy coming down the outside, you can let him take that shot. You don't have to feel obligated to try and dive in front of it and block it. He's such a good goaltender and he's been that way for such a long time in this league that we have all the faith in the world in him."

IV: 'C' ALSO STANDS FOR CENTER
Foligno moved back to center in the Blue Jackets' loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, when Alex Wennberg missed a game with an upper-body injury. Wennberg returned against the Sharks, but Foligno stayed in the middle of the second line, flanked by Milano and Oliver Bjorkstrand.
Prior to the game, coach John Tortorella said Milano and Bjorkstrand were staying in the top six because of their recent play, which included Milano scoring goals in two of his first three games back from a torn oblique muscle.
The trio rewarded his decision by playing one of the best games of the season with Foligno at center. They had the puck a lot from start to finish, and two of the first three goals were scored by Foligno and Milano - though neither was scored with all three on the ice at once. Bjorkstrand assisted on Milano's goal, with the primary assist going to Boone Jenner after a nifty spin move to get around a defender.
Foligno's goal was his 14th and Milano scored his 11th for his third in four games since his return. All three of the goals were scored from the low slot area, with the last two off his decision to charge to the net-front to create scoring chances.
"I'm going to go where I think the puck's going to end up," Milano said. "Usually that's right in front, by the net. So, I'm just trying to time it and just go to where the puck's going to be."
Plays like that are getting noticed by the coaching staff, which has also noticed less turnovers coming off his stick. They;ve also noticed Bjorkstrand's uptick in hustle plays, especially the past few weeks.
"They both played 18-to-20 minutes the other night [in Anaheim]," Tortorella said. "That's where we're at in our season right now. The guys that are playing are going to get the minutes. It's just the way it has to be. I thought one of our biggest positives coming out of that last game was our kids, how they handled themselves. For us to find out way, more guys have got to come along too."

V: WHO'S GOAL IS IS ANYWAY?
The Blue Jackets led, 2-0, against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday and never got to three goals. It came back to haunt them, as they allowed three second-period goals and lost 5-2 at Staples Center.
Against the Sharks, they did get that elusive third goal, making it 3-0 at 5:32 of the second period on what appeared to be Cole's first goal as a Blue Jacket. Cole, one of three additions at the trade deadline, pounded a slap shot toward the net and the puck eluded Jones. Panarin was in the vicinity, had his stick about waist-high and was given credit for a tip-in goal that was, at the time, his team-high 19th of the season.
Cole got the primary assist, which was his first point with Columbus.
"I was just trying to get it through the traffic and [Panarin] said he didn't touch it," Cole said. "If he did, and they gave it to him, fine. It they give it to me, great. To be honest with you, it's not a big deal ... don't really care."
VI: 'Mr. 400' Part IV
This was the 401st game of Matt Calvert's NHL career, all played with the Blue Jackets.
He reached 400 against Anaheim on Friday, becoming the fourth Columbus player this season to play that many games for the Blue Jackets - joining captain Nick Foligno, Cam Atkinson and defenseman Jack Johnson.
"It's special," Calvert said. "It's 400 NHL games, and with the same organization, so I think it makes it even more special being in Columbus the whole time. But if you asked me 10 years ago if I'd play 400 professional hockey games, I'm not sure I would've given you a 'yes,' so it's a pretty exciting moment."
David Savard could also reach 400 games played with Columbus this season. The veteran defenseman has played 391 games with the Blue Jackets, needing just eight more games in the final 16 left in the regular season.
"It's been a core group of guys and it just shows what we've been building here for the last six or seven years," Calvert said. "It's great to be with those guys that long. We've definitely gone through our ups and downs together and kind of grown as a family almost."

VII: NEXT UP
The Blue Jackets have a travel day on Monday and host the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday at Nationwide Arena (7 p.m., Fox Sports Ohio, Fox Sports Go, 97.1 FM). It will be the finale of the inaugural two-game season series, with Vegas looking to sweep.
The Golden Knights lead the Pacific Division with 89 points after defeating the New Jersey Devils, 3-2, on Sunday at Prudential Center.