Blue Jackets rally past Hurricanes in shootout

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Elvis Merzlikins made 35 saves for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who rallied for a 3-2 shootout win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Saturday.

After Seth Jones tied it with 29 seconds remaining in the third period, Merzlikins kept the game tied when he made a glove save on Martin Necas on a 2-on-1 at 1:13 of overtime.
"I thought Elvis just looked solid," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "There wasn't a whole lot of movement, and he makes just a fantastic save in that overtime."

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored and won it in the fourth round of the shootout for Columbus (13-12-7), which won 3-2 in overtime here Thursday and is 3-0-2 in its past five games.
"It was a very evenly matched game," Tortorella said. "Both teams played well and we found a way to win. I think the team has stayed with it and has been improving right on through this."
Andrei Svechnikov and Warren Foegele scored for Carolina (20-7-3), which has lost three in a row following an eight-game winning streak. James Reimer made 29 saves.
"There's nothing not to like other than the result," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "It was a grind. We knew that coming in. We had the game won. Crazy ending there on the overtime, but there's a lot of good in there."
Prior to the shootout, Dougie Hamilton appeared to score the winner for Carolina at 2:14 with a one-timer during a power play, but the goal was reversed for offside after a video review.
"Most of us thought we lost the game, and we got a second chance, so that was awesome," Bjorkstrand said. "The [penalty kill] did an awesome job. That's not easy."
Svechnikov gave Carolina a 1-0 lead at 14:29 of the second period. Merzlikins stopped Brett Pesce's shot from the low slot, but Svechnikov batted the puck in from the top of the crease for his second goal in his past 14 games.
"When you score, you get more confidence," Svechnikov said. "I've had so many chances in the last [few] games. You score, but you lost this game, so it's kind of bad."

Bjorkstrand scored 39 seconds into the third period to tie it 1-1. He skated through the slot after Hamilton failed to clear the puck, then flipped a shot from below the goal line that deflected off Reimer's pad and the skate of Hamilton into the net.
"When you get that wide, you can try to hit it off the goalie, defending players, your own teammates," Bjorkstrand said."You try to throw it in there, and sometimes it goes the wrong way, sometimes it goes the right way."
Foegele made it 2-1 at 15:47 of the third when he knocked in the rebound of Brock McGinn's shot at the left post.
The teams will complete the four-game set on Monday and Thursday at Columbus.
"We put really a lot of effort and love into these (past) two games," Merzlikins said. "We are fighting for each other. We're blocking a lot of shots, we're playing good defensively. I'm really happy we are getting on the right track."
NOTES: Bjorkstrand has scored six points (one goal, five assists) in five games against Carolina this season. … Hamilton had an assist to extend his point streak 11 games (two goals, 11 assists), which ties Mark Howe (1979-80) for the longest by a defenseman in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers history. Forward Sebastian Aho holds the overall record (14 games, 2019-20). … Carolina won its previous 10 shootouts, dating to Dec. 14, 2018. … This was Don Waddell's 1,000th regular-season game as an NHL general manager. Prior to becoming Hurricanes GM in 2018, he was Atlanta Thrashers GM from 1998-2010 (820 games).