Sergei Bobrovsky gets win in Blue Jackets return

COLUMBUS -- Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves after missing the previous three games because of illness, and the Columbus Blue Jackets ended the Carolina Hurricanes' four-game winning streak with a 4-1 victory at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.
Brandon Dubinsky scored twice for the Blue Jackets (30-9-4), who had lost four of six since a 16-game winning streak and two of three in Bobrovsky's absence.

WATCH: All Hurricanes vs. Blue Jackets highlights
Sebastian Aho scored for the Hurricanes (21-16-7) at 18:06 of the first period for a 1-0 lead but Bobrovsky stopped the final 16 Carolina shots.
Columbus coach John Tortorella said he noticed the difference in the Blue Jackets with Bobrovsky, who leads the NHL with 27 wins.
"They know [Bobrovsky]," Tortorella said. "It relaxes the players, because if a mistake is made and they get a scoring chance, [Bobrovsky] has been that good. All teams play off their goalie that way, and this team certainly does. They feel very confident with him."
Dubinsky had gone 17 games without a goal before getting his fourth and fifth of the season to put Columbus ahead 3-1 early in the second period. Dubinsky had 17 goals last season.

Boone Jenner had a goal and an assist, Lukas Sedlak scored, and Cam Atkinson and Ryan Murray each had two assists.
Cam Ward made 15 saves for the Hurricanes but was replaced by Alex Nedeljkovic after allowing four goals midway through the game. Nedeljkovic made 17 saves in his NHL debut.
"I was a little anxious," Nedeljkovic said. "Whenever you're backing up, starting, whatever it is, you're always ready to go no matter here, the American League or the [ECHL]."
After Aho's goal, Jenner got his ninth 11 seconds later and Dubinsky scored 35 seconds after that for a 2-1 lead.
Dubinsky made it 3-1 at 3:53 of the second. Ward was pulled after allowing Sedlak to score at 9:16.

Goal of the game

Teuvo Teravainen threaded a pass to Aho at the right circle to set up the rookie's 11th goal of the season.

Save of the game

Bobrovsky made a full extension to his left to get a glove on a shot by Lee Stempniak that was targeted for the upper corner five minutes into the second period to keep the Blue Jackets ahead 3-1.

Unsung performance of the game

Jenner made a power forward move across the crease to slip the puck past Ward soon after Aho's goal to tie the score and rejuvenate the Blue Jackets.

Highlight of the game

Sedlak gave Columbus a 4-1 lead on a determined rebound goal when he went down to his left knee to put a backhand past Ward before sliding into the end boards.

They said it

"He was good. He came in, shut the door and gave us a chance to come back." -- Hurricanes coach Bill Peters on goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic
"We wanted to reset for sure. We've had a lull the last six games or so. We want to get back to the way we play. We could have been better at the start, but we got our legs and played the right way the last 50 minutes of the game. That's the way we need to play to win games." -- Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky
"The biggest thing is we've had trouble getting momentum back on our side when we lose it. They score a goal. We score two. It was really good to get the momentum swung back on our side." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella

Need to know

Nedeljkovic is from Parma, Ohio, near Cleveland. He had family members travel about two hours south to Columbus for the game. He picked up his first NHL penalty, for holding, five minutes after entering the game. Nedeljkovic scored an empty-net goal for the Florida Everblades of the ECHL on Dec. 30 against the Atlanta Gladiators. … Hurricanes defenseman Ron Hainsey played after not participating in the morning skate for an undisclosed reason. …. Atkinson's assist on Jenner's goal was his first in 12 games and the 100th in his NHL career. … The Blue Jackets and Hurricanes will play for the third time since Jan. 10 on Saturday in Columbus.

What's next

Hurricanes: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, ROOT, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets: Host the Ottawa Senators on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, TSN5, RDS, NHL.TV)