Looking back: A glance at the Jackets' latest big win streak

They tried to ignore it, once a nice little hot stretch turned into a full-on winning streak.
The Blue Jackets deflected questions about it, like they deflected shots into the net, saying that winning streaks and records were only significant to media and fans. They kept their focus locked into a game-by-game approach, building one game to the next, and before long the consecutive wins stacked 10 high.
That stack was toppled Saturday night by the St. Louis Blues, but the Jackets' 10-game winning streak was still an impressive run. It finished six wins short of what they did last season, winning a franchise-record 16 straight, but this streak might be more important.
Should the Blue Jackets follow up with their second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, fourth in franchise history, this year's streak will be a big reason why. It was the culmination of a season's worth of frustration, when more than three months lapsed between win streaks longer than two games.
This streak was different than last year's in numerous ways and will be seen as the launching pad moment, should this season's path lead to heights the Jackets have never before reached.
With that in mind, here's a thumbnail look at all 10 wins:

WIN NO. 1
Date:March 4
Opponent:San Jose Sharks
Location:S&P Center
Blue Jackets Goals:Nick Foligno, Sonny Milano, Artemi Panarin (2)
Key moments:Ian Cole got the puck at the right point, just inside the blue line and wound up for a slap shot. Playing just his third game with the Blue Jackets following a trade Feb. 26, Cole watched the puck sail toward the net and beat goalie Martin Jones for what appeared to be his first goal with Columbus. It gave the Jackets a 3-0 lead at 5:32 of the second period and drove Jones from the net, but the goal was credited to Panarin - even though he later told Cole the puck never touched his stick. Either way, it turned out to be the game-winner. The Sharks scored the game's next two goals before Panarin's empty netter, his second goal of the game, sealed it.
Record:33-28-5
Playoff race:The win moved the Blue Jackets to 71 points and back into the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Florida Panthers (70 points). They trailed the New Jersey Devils by three points for the East's first wild card.
Quotable:"It's 'What are you doing to help us win?' 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." - Foligno

WIN NO. 2
Date:March 6
Opponent:Vegas Golden Knights
Location:Nationwide Arena
Blue Jackets Goals:Artemi Panarin, Zach Werenski, Ian Cole, Pierre-Luc Dubois
Key moments:It started early in the day, when it was announced Sergei Bobrovsky was sick. Joonas Korpisalo, who'd allowed a combined 14 goals in his previous three starts, got the nod. Against one of the NHL's most potent offensive teams, 'Korpi' had his best game of the season. He allowed one goal on 37 shots to win the second game in the streak and end a personal three-game losing skid. The Jackets also got back-to-back goals from defensemen, Werenski and Cole, just 1:46 apart to take a 3-1 lead in the second period. Werenski's was his 13th goal and set a new franchise record for goals by a defenseman in a single season. Cole scored first goal as a Blue Jacket against former Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Marc-Andre Fleury.
Record:34-28-5
Playoff race:The Jackets moved up to 73 points and padded their advantage over the Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes for the East's second wild card. Florida and Carolina each lost that day, the Panthers in overtime, while the Devils won to stay three points ahead of Columbus.
Quotable:"It's been a tough last four weeks for me. Every win, every solid game and every time I feel like I help the team helps me a lot." - Korpisalo
Video: Panarin, Blue Jackets top Golden Knights, 4-1
WIN NO. 3
Date:March 8
Opponent:Colorado Avalanche
Location:Nationwide Arena
Blue Jackets Goals:Boone Jenner, Thomas Vanek (2), Zach Werenski, Seth Jones
Key moments:Korpisalo made his second straight start, and the Avalanche scored back-to-back goals twice in the game. The Blue Jackets, however, responded to each one impressively. Colorado took a 2-0 lead on goals by Tyson Barrie and Carl Soderberg 12 seconds apart in the first period, but Columbus scored the next four in a row - including two by Thomas Vanek, another acquisition at the NHL Trade Deadline. Gabriel Landeskog and Soderberg then scored late in the third period, less than three minutes apart, to tie it, 4-4 and send the game to overtime. In OT, another defenseman came up big for Columbus. Seth Jones ended the game 59 seconds into overtime with his 11th goal of the season, which was followed a fraction of a second later by Soderberg's crosscheck to his lower back/ribs area. Jones doubled over in pain, but the incident was likely the cause of the upper-body injury Jones is still fighting through now.
Record:35-28-5
Playoff race:The Blue Jackets stayed two points ahead of the Florida Panthers for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, moving up to 75 points. They also pulled within a point of the New Jersey Devils (76 points) for the East's first wild card and within four points of the Philadelphia Flyers (79 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Quotable:"It's perfect timing, right? We have no other option. We control our own fate at this point. Teams are getting better and we've got to get better, as well, and we've got to win games. We've played well in stretches this year. It hasn't been as consistent as we'd like. So, it's great to see us playing period after period after period the right way." - Jones

WIN NO. 4
Date:March 9
Opponent:Detroit Red Wings
Location:Nationwide Arena
Blue Jackets Goals:Matt Calvert, Seth Jones (2)
Key moments:Bobrovsky recovered and got back in net for the Blue Jackets, who won 3-2 in front of a packed house. The guy known as 'Bob' wound up playing a huge role in the Jackets' fourth straight victory, too. He made 22 saves, but it was his final one that notched the 'W' for Columbus. Clinging to a one-goal lead after Detroit's Andreas Athanasiou cut it to 3-2 with 3:43 left in the third period, the Blue Jackets earned the two points when Bobrovsky made a fantastic save to deny Darren Helm a second goal in the game, with just a couple of seconds left on the clock. Bobrovsky lunged forward, in front of the crease, just enough to stop Helm's wrist shot with his right shoulder. Seth Jones also had a big night for Columbus, despite playing through pain from his injury. He scoring two more goals, including another game-winner.
Record:36-28-5
Playoff race:The Jackets were the lone team from the Metropolitan Division in action. They moved up to 77 points, ahead of the Devils (76), and took over the East's first wild card. They also moved within two points of the idle Philadelphia Flyers (79 points) for third in the division.
Quotable:"[Thomas Vanek] says we're the 'Scary Jackets,' and from what he's seeing, we've been wanting to give up two-goal leads. It's too close. Guys are going to finish those chances. There's a lot of positives in our game right now, but we need to keep taking that next step if we want to be in the playoffs and be a good team in the playoffs." - Calvert

WIN NO. 5
Date:March 12
Opponent:Montreal Canadiens
Location:Nationwide Arena
Blue Jackets Goals:Nick Foligno, Alex Wennberg, Seth Jones, Boone Jenner, Ian Cole
Key moments:Brendan Gallagher put the Canadiens up, 1-0, just 34 seconds into the game. The Blue Jackets responded by scoring the next four goals. Foligno, Wennberg and Jones scored three goals in the first period and Jenner scored in the second to give Columbus a 4-1 lead. Sergei Bobrovsky made 38 saves in the Jackets' 5-2 victory, but the story was Jones. After scoring his 14th goal of the season, a third straight game-winner that tied defense partner Zach Werenski for most goals by a Blue Jackets defenseman in one season, Jones sat out the third. Coach John Tortorella said it was a precautionary measure related to his injury. Jones played the next game in Philadelphia, but missed the following three games.
Record:37-28-5
Playoff race:Columbus (79 points) moved back in front of the idle Devils by a point for the East's first wild card. The Blue Jackets also moved within two points of third place, after the Flyers lost in regulation, and increased their cushion to four points over the Panthers - who had three games-in-hand.
Quotable:"I want 'Jonesy' on the ice as much as possible, but we felt at this point in time it was precautionary. Something was aggravated tonight. We wanted to make sure that we didn't get anything else aggravated. He's an important player. He wanted to play. I wanted to sit him out in the third period, just to make sure. That's how important he is." - Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella

WIN NO. 6
Date:March 15
Opponent:Philadelphia Flyers
Location:Wells-Fargo Center
Blue Jackets Goals:Oliver Bjorkstrand, Boone Jenner, Cam Atkinson (3)
Key moments:Bjorkstrand and Jenner got things started for the Blue Jackets early, scoring goals just 11 seconds apart midway through the first period for a 2-0 lead. The Flyers refused to crumble, though, pulling within a goal on three separate occasions. Luckily for Columbus, Cam Atkinson was feeling it. He scored the next three goals for the Jackets, including the third with less than a second remaining for his fourth career hat trick and first by a Blue Jackets player this season. Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves, including 12-of-12 in the third period, when the Flyers made a frantic push to tie.
Record:38-28-5
Playoff race:Columbus moved past the idle New Jersey Devils for the first wild card in the Eastern Conference with the win. The Jackets also tied the Flyers at 81 points, but Philadelphia hung onto third place in the Metro on a tie-breaker. The Flyers had one more regulation/overtime win (ROW), 33-32. The victory also kept Columbus four points ahead of the Panthers, who defeated the Boston Bruins.
Quotable:"We owed them. Every time we'd played them, it went into overtime and the last time we were here they beat us … came back. We're so focused right now. It's do-or-die. We knew they were a point ahead of us and it's going to be an absolute battle the whole way in, so we're in control of our fate and have to keep this thing going." - Atkinson

WIN NO. 7
Date:March 17
Opponent:Ottawa Senators
Location:Nationwide Arena
Blue Jackets Goals:Boone Jenner, Markus Nutivaara
Key moments:It wasn't their most impressive victory during the streak, but there were some common themes from the previous six wins. They fell behind first, allowing a goal by Senators forward Alexandre Burrows at 12:16 of the first period, and quickly responded on Jenner's goal 4:05 later to tie it, 1-1. This was also the first of three straight games Jones sat out with the upper-body injury, which meant the remaining defensemen needed to fill the void. Ryan Murray returned to the lineup, after missed the previous two games, and Nutivaara scored the game-winner to cap a power play late in the second period. Jones' absence gave Nutivaara a chance to log some power-play minutes and it paid off.
Record:39-28-5
Playoff race:The Jackets kept pace with the Devils and Flyers in the Metropolitan Division and moved up to 83 points. Prior to their game, Florida lost 4-2 to the Edmonton Oilers at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla., which kept the Panthers four points behind Columbus.
Quotable:"We're really going to miss Seth Jones. As I've said, he is a Norris Trophy candidate. He has had one hell of a year. We're going to miss him, but the next guy in is [Murray]. He's [ticked] off. He wants to play. Right where we want him. Perfect … right where we want him." - Tortorella

WIN NO. 8
Date:March 19
Opponent:Boston Bruins
Location:TD Garden
Blue Jackets Goals:Boone Jenner, Sonny Milano, Thomas Vanek, Artemi Panarin, Cam Atkinson
Key moments:Boston came into this game without six key lineup stalwarts, who were out with various injuries. The Bruins still found a way to dominate in all but one aspect: moxie. Despite being outplayed for long stretches, the Blue Jackets managed to score five goals against Tuukka Rask, which was enough to win, 5-4, in overtime. Atkinson's OT game-winner was a beauty, too, which he scored skating in from the left wing off a hard wrist shot. It was the culmination of Columbus' resilience, after losing a 1-0 lead by allowing three straight goals, then scoring three straight to retake the lead and then losing that 4-3 lead on the ensuing shift after Panarin's goal at 11:30 of the third period.
Record:40-28-5
Playoff race:The Jackets pulled back into a tie with the Flyers at 85 points and maintained their position as the first wild card in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers stayed in third in the Metropolitan Division on a tiebreaker, with one more win in regulation/overtime (ROW), 35-34.
Quotable: "I don't want to take anything away from the guys. 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." - Tortorella
Video: Atkinson lifts Blue Jackets past Bruins in OT, 5-4
WIN NO. 9
Date:March 20
Opponent:New York Rangers
Location:Madison Square Garden
Blue Jackets Goals:Alexander Wennberg, Markus Nutivaara, Artemi Panarin (3)
Key moments:Bad things often happen to the Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden, which they found out the hard way Nov. 6, when the Rangers scored three power-play goals in the third period to win, 5-3. Bad things don't usually happen for Panarin at Madison Square Garden, which the Rangers already knew prior to this seasone. Panarin's success against them, and star goalie Henrik Lundqvist, continued in this game and it was only fitting that win number nine in the streak was provided by No. 9 for the Jackets. Panarin's second career hat trick was also his second at Madison Square Garden and second in the streak for Columbus. Panarin finished this season with six goals and seven points against the Rangers, and now has 10 goals, three assists and 13 points against them in eight career games.
Record:41-28-5
Playoff race:The Blue Jackets moved past Philadelphia to gain third place in the Metropolitan Division at 87 points. The Flyers had 86 points after a 5-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings in a shootout, which dropped them into the East's first wild card.
The Jackets also tied the Pittsburgh Penguins in points, but Pittsburgh had played less games and remained in second place of the Metro despite a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders.
Quotable: "I don't even care about the streak. I just want points. You guys can talk about [it]. We don't even care. Once we get to 17, maybe we'll care, but we went through that [last year]. It's a pretty cool feather in the cap, but right now, all we're about is getting into the playoffs." - Foligno

WIN NO. 10
Date:March 22
Opponent:Florida Panthers
Location:Nationwide Arena
Blue Jackets Goals:Cam Atkinson, Sonny Milano, Seth Jones, Thomas Vanek
Key moments:They saved their best for last. This game had grown in significance during the month leading up to it, as Florida fought its way up from the bottom of the Eastern Conference to get to the bubble of playoff contention. Columbus followed suit with its win streak, which reached 10 straight games and tied the second-longest streak in franchise history. Atkinson scored 59 seconds into the second period, the Jackets scored two more goals in the second and cruised from there to victory. Florida's Frank Vatrano was called for two minor penalties in one sequence, after he hauled down Zach Werenski and then cut the bridge of Werenski's nose with his stick, and Jones made him pay. His 15th goal of the season capped the ensuing power play and, for now, stands as the most ever by a Blue Jackets defenseman in one season.
Record:42-28-5
Playoff race:The Blue Jackets got to 89 points with the win, which tied them with the rival Penguins again in points. Pittsburgh, which then broke the tie Saturday with an overtime loss, remained second in the Metro because of one less game played.
Quotable: "It's apples and oranges to me, because when you have a 16-game streak in the middle of the year, that is totally different than] a team that has been inconsistent in a number of different ways a lot of the year, and now has found its game and it has its eye on one thing - and that's getting an opportunity to play in the postseason."- *Tortorella*
*[Video: Bobrovsky leads Blue Jackets to 10th straight win*