Ekholm scores twice in return, Predators edge Blue Jackets

NASHVILLE --Mattias Ekholm scored two goals in his return for the Nashville Predators in a 2-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.

Ekholm missed six games because of a lower-body injury for the Predators (9-11-0), who have won three of their past four. Juuse Saros made 29 saves.
"[Ekholm] has been a key part of this team for a long time," Nashville forward Filip Forsberg said. "I think guys played really well stepping in for him, but obviously, we were very happy that he's back. First and foremost, he's very solid defensively, a good skater, can defend in a lot of ways. He plays hard and physical and with a good stick. A couple of goals, one laser and one muffin."

Joonas Korpisalo made 31 saves for the Blue Jackets (8-9-5), who have lost their past four games and are 1-4-2 in their past seven.
"Every game is so important, just because it's a condensed season," Columbus forward Cam Atkinson said. "We're almost halfway through the season. We have to figure out how to play the right way on a regular basis in order to have success. We can't just turn it on one time and turn it off the next and expect to win in this league."
Atkinson gave Columbus a 1-0 lead at 7:26 of the first period. Jack Roslovic forced a turnover by Rocco Grimaldi in Nashville's zone, and Atkinson finished a 2-on-0 with Boone Jenner for his eighth goal in his past 11 games.
"I thought we had a pretty good first period," Atkinson said. "I thought we had some chances on the power play. We made a push toward the end there. For whatever reason, it seems like there's like 10 minutes in the second period of every game that we just kind of take our foot off the gas, and that's when bad things happen to us."

Ekholm tied it 1-1 at 1:12 of the second period on a slap shot from the point. The goal was his first of the season and his 200th point in the NHL.
The defenseman then gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 16:54 when his shot from the left point redirected in off the stick of Blue Jackets defenseman David Savard.
"I thought the first one was pretty much what I wanted," Ekholm said. "The second was one of those where you just throw it at the net and it went in. Call it a muffin, call it whatever, but happy that it went in. I feel like the first however many games I played before I got hurt (12), I had some looks and had some shots that maybe normally go in, and they just bounced out somehow. I think tonight was maybe a little bit of a reward for that I guess."
The Blue Jackets were 0-for-3 on the power play, including one with less than five minutes remaining in the third period.
"I'm not down," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "There's no sense in being down. There's no sense of drilling them and being frustrated. We have simply got to work ourselves out of this and try to gain some confidence within our whole squad as far as making puck plays."
NOTES: It was the first multigoal game for Ekholm. He has scored 49 goals in 552 NHL games. … Predators defenseman Mark Borowiecki left the game at 8:58 of the third period with an undisclosed injury. … Nashville led entering the third period for the first time this season.