Labatt Blue What We Learned: CBJ 3, CHI 2

The Chicago Blackhawks aren't like their teams that won the Stanley Cup three times in six seasons, but they're also not your typical team that's likely out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
They still have elite talent, even without injured goalie Corey Crawford, and that's one reason the Blue Jackets' 3-2 victory against the Blackhawks was so impressive Saturday night at Nationwide Arena.
Chicago surged ahead with leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but the Blue Jackets (31-26-5) pursued them relentlessly, getting 31 saves from goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and the eventual game-winning goal from Josh Anderson at 11:14 of the third period.
"It's a confidence thing with our team," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "We're just trying to find a way to string something together. You can talk about the word ['confidence'], you can say the word, you can spell the word … until you go through a number of games and you feel good about yourself, it just doesn't happen."

This one was a confidence-booster.
The Blackhawks scored just 1:28 into the game on David Kampf's deflection a shot and then pushed hard for a second goal, which didn't happen until after Cam Atkinson had tied it, 1-1, late in the first period on a power play.
Chicago surged back in front, 2-1, on a goal by Tomas Jurco in the second, only to have the Blue Jackets respond again, with a goal scored late in the period by rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois, off a feed from former Blackhawks star left wing Artemi Panarin.
Two one-goal deficits plus two comebacks equaled one big victory for the Jackets, who padded their cushion for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.
"They're trailing twice, they come back, and we find a way to win," Tortorella said of his team, which has one of the league's youngest rosters. "I think we've played better in other games than this game, that we've lost, but [we] won the game. So, we'll have a good practice [Sunday] and get ready, and maybe we'll win another one [Monday against the Washington Capitals]. That's when you start breeding [confidence]. That's what's missing, and the energy comes off of that."
The energy also comes from the standings in the conference and Metropolitan Division. There are only 20 games remaining now for Columbus, and time is winding down. The NHL Trade Deadline will arrive Monday, signaling the start of the stretch run in the regular season, and the Blue Jackets need to kick it into a higher gear if they want to play in the postseason for a second straight year.
A comeback win like the one they pulled off against the Blackhawks is a good start.
"We found a way to score three goals, and 'Bob' was outstanding," Tortorella said. "He was outstanding, to give us a chance. He's gonna have to be, because we're still not where we want to be, and until we get where we want to be, that's how 'Bob's' got to play. He was outstanding."
The Blue Jackets were opportunistic.
They fell behind twice by one-goal deficits but bounced back with the help of some great saves by Bobrovsky and clutch goals, including Anderson scoring the eventual game-winner midway through the third.
It was just enough to earn two big points in the standings.
"We're just battling through it," Anderson said. "We're not giving up, no matter what the score is, and we know how important these games are coming down to the last 20. So, we've got to push to the very end, and I thought we did a pretty good job of that tonight."
Here's what we learned:
I: WHAT IT MEANS
The Blue Jackets maintained control of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference and had their lead for it increase thanks to the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes each losing in regulation.
The Islanders have 65 points in 63 games, after losing 2-1 to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night at Prudential Center. The Hurricanes stayed at 64 points in 62 games after losing to the Detroit Red Wings, 3-1, at Little Caesar's Arena.
The Blue Jackets are four points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins and have a game-in-hand for third in the Metropolitan Division, trail the Philadelphia Flyers by four points for second in the division and are five points back of the first-place Washington Capitals.
The Florida Panthers, who defeated the Penguins 6-5 Saturday, have 62 points and trail the Blue Jackets by five points with three less games played (59).
II:ANDERSON RESPONDS
During the Blue Jackets' morning skate Saturday, Anderson skated on the fourth line. He'd been skating most recently with the third line, which followed a long stretch when he was the right wing on the top line.
Anderson didn't see the move to the fourth group as a demotion, but did say there were elements missning in his game.
"I think I've got to start generating more scoring chances and shooting the puck a lot more," he said. "I don't think I'm getting the puck enough to the net, but right now I'm trying to focus more on my defensive game, being stronger on the walls, things like that - and then my offense is going to take over."
That's pretty much how it unfolded, as Anderson worked his way back up the lineup to right wing on the second line. He played on three different lines, and the goal was scored by doing exactly what he said -- shooting the puck more.
Anderson got the puck in the left-wing circle, used Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith as a screen and fired a hard wrist shot that beat Forsberg to the short side of the net for a 3-2 lead at 11:14 of the third.
"I just wanted to shoot the puck as much as I could tonight," Anderson said. "I thought I did a good job of supporting my linemates out there, and when I did support them, they were giving me the puck, which I like."

III: 'BOB' GOES 'BEASTMODE'
Bobrovsky made high-end saves in the first two periods, including one in the second while appearing to make a snow angel on his stomach, but his work in the third was remarkable, even for him.
Chicago controlled the action to start the final period and pushed hard to break a 2-2 tie. The Blackhawks nearly did a couple of times, but Bobrovsky didn't allow it.
"We found a way to score three goals, and 'Bob' was outstanding," Tortorella said. "He was outstanding, to give us a chance. He's gonna have to be, because we're still not where we want to be, and until we get where we want to be, that's how 'Bob's' got to play. He was outstanding."
Bobrovsky's most impressive work in the period happened four minutes into it, when he got his left pad on a low shot from Tommy Wingels and then denied former Blue Jackets forward Brandon Saad on back-to-back wrist shots from close range - losing his goal stick on the second shot and falling backward.
The Blue Jackets cleared the zone moments later and Bobrovsky scrambled to get his stick. He then made blocker saves against Jurco and David Kampf later in the period, before Anderson's goal put the Blue Jackets in front.
"I just play by the moment," Bobrovsky said. "So, the moment [dictates] to throw what you can [at the puck] and it's worked. I knew they [had] a fast team. They've got good forwards, good offensive team, and it's always a good challenge to play against them. It's a good test for you and your skills."

III: ANOTHER SLICE OF 'BREAD'
Prior to the game, as players from both teams filed off the ice following warmups, Artemi Panarin and his former linemate, Patrick Kane, made sure they were the last off the ice for their teams.
Panarin, though, had a little fun with his former teammate. He fired a puck down the ice at Kane, jokingly, when it was just the two of them left.
Then, in the second period, the sellout crowd of 18,792 watched them both do what they do best.
Kane set up Tomas Jurco's first goal in 12 games this season, giving Chicago its second lead of the game, 2-1, at 9:20 for his 35th assist and 58th point in 63 games. Panarin followed suit 5:10 later for Columbus. setting up Dubois' goal off a 2-on-1 rush with his team-leading 33rd assist and 50th point in 62 games.
"When I started playing with him in November, it was as much fun as it is now ... it never gets old," Dubois said. "I knew that puck was coming. I could hear him in my mind, 'Get ready, get ready, get ready.' He's really fun to play with, and the thing that's really fun about him is he pushes himself so much. He works so hard. I don't have a choice but to follow him."

IV: POWER-PLAY TWEAK
Atkinson's goal in the first period came from a spot he's usually not firing shots from during power-plays.
He scored with a shot through traffic from the right wing, tying the game, 1-1, with 2:17 left in the period.
Atkinson usually plays on the left win in the Blue Jackets' 1-3-1 setup, with Panarin on the right. The two flipped sides Saturday, which put Panarin on the left wing - where he scored a lot of goals for the Blackhawks the past two seasons with a hard one-timer.
:It's a huge goal," Tortorella said. "We flipped them. Cam's just not getting enough shots on the net. We just felt it was stalling off when Cam was on the other side. He'd get the puck and we just kind of stalled it off, and we weren't getting any plays out of there. [We] moved him over to the other side. 'Bread' [Panarin] can play either side, and we had Cam going downhill. He had a chance to go downhill and take some shots."
Atkinson, who now has 11 goals, said it will take some time to get used to it. It was a good start, though.
"It's going to take a little bit of time to adjust to that spot, but they want me over there strictly for shooting," he said. "They felt like I wasn't getting enough shots on the other side. So, I like it over there when it looks like that and, obviously, score a big goal. But it's way easier to shoot on that side."
The Columbus power play was struggling again entering the game. The Blue Jackets hadn't scored with the man-advantage in the prior five games, going 0-for-9 in that stretch.
V: MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Dubois continues to climb the record books among all-time Blue Jackets rookies.
The 19-year old center, who was the third overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, had his sixth multi-point game and fourth with a goal and assist - pushing him past the 30-point mark after 62 games.
Dubois' secondary assist on Atkinson's goal in the first was his 30th point, which tied him with Serge Aubin (2000-01) for the sixth-most points in a season for a Columbus rookie. He moved past Aubin late in the second, when he tied the game, 2-2, off a feed from Panarin to cap a 2-on-1 rush.
"Other than 'Bob,' he was probably our best player," Tortorella said. "I mean, he played up against [Jonathan Toews] all night long. He's improved. I don't want to jinx him, but he's improved tremendously in all areas, and this is a guy who has to play the full 200 feet as a center, playing against all top lines down low, and he does not make a lot of mistakes defensively. He's just feeling more and more comfortable, as far as carrying the puck, holding onto pucks, making plays. We have to make more plays, and he's willing to do that."
That one was his 14th goal, which gave him sole possession of third place in franchise history for goals by a rookie. Dubois is also closing in quickly on the top two. Boone Jenner's 16 goals in 2014 is second all-time and Rick Nash's 17 in 2003 tops the list.
"I just wanted to learn and help the team win at the start of the year, and then get used to the game," Dubois said. "Every night, I think I have a lot to learn. So, my play when I play without the puck often isn't good enough, but I mean, I'm going to learn and that's part of the process. I'm going to learn my entire career, so I'm having a fun time right now, but I want to keep it going."
VI: RIDING A WHIRLWIND
Nathan Gerbe played his second game for the Blue Jackets, making his home debut at Nationwide Arena by logging 9:54 and skating on the fourth line.
The 30-year old forward laughed when asked after morning skate what this season's been like for him.
Gerbe started out playing in Switzerland, signed with the Blue Jackets in January, made his North American return with the Cleveland Monsters and is now in Columbus in the middle of a push to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"It's been a whirlwind season," Gerbe said. "One day you're in Europe, sitting there and then you're in Cleveland and now here. I'm excited for the chance. I wouldn't want to play in any other kind of games beside playoff games and games of this magnitude. Being in Cleveland has been great for me, just to play games and kind of get my game back to where I needed to get to. It's been nice, but it's been a long year."
VII: NEXT UP
The Blue Jackets will host the Washington Capitals on Monday at Nationwide Arena in the finale of the season series (7 p.m., Fox Sports Ohio, Fox Sports Go, 97.1 FM).
The Capitals have won the first three games, including a 4-2 victory in the most recent game Feb. 9 at Capital One Arena. It will be the 10th game in February against a team from the Metropolitan Division.