Blue Jackets win 11th straight game

COLUMBUS -- Scott Hartnell scored his ninth NHL hat trick to help lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 7-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.
The Blue Jackets (22-5-4) extended their Columbus-record win streak to 11 and are tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for the most points in the NHL with 48.

WATCH: All Penguins vs. Blue Jackets highlights
"Three goals is three goals," Hartnell said. "It's a nice accomplishment. Goals have been few and far between for me the last 15, 20 games so it's nice to contribute.
"When you beat the Pens your smile is extra big."
Hartnell got his third goal at 6:24 of the third period to make it 7-1 and complete a span of four unanswered goals in 3:40, which included three scores in 51 seconds.
Brandon Saad had a goal and an assist, and the Blue Jackets also got goals from Cam Atkinson, William Karlsson and Boone Jenner. Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves and Columbus extended its point streak to 13 games (12-0-1).

Sidney Crosby had his NHL-best 23rd goal at 2:39 of the first to give Pittsburgh (21-8-5) a 1-0 lead, but it was all Columbus after that and Hartnell, who hadn't scored in nine games, played a big part. He has eight goals for the season.
The Penguins lost for the first time in regulation in 11 games (8-1-2).
"The first period we were really good," Crosby said. "The second period they carried the play a little bit more. Obviously in the third period they were much better."
Columbus scored both goals in the second period for a 3-1 lead. Karlsson got his fifth at 10:15 to make it 2-1. Hartnell followed at 12:20 for a 3-1 lead with an unassisted goal that slipped by Matt Murray, who made 17 saves before being replaced by Marc-Andre Fleury after the sixth goal.
The Penguins had outscored opponents 21-3 in the third period in December.

Goal of the game

Hartnell isn't known for his speed or moves but on his first goal he caught Pittsburgh defenseman Derrick Pouliot backpedaling in the neutral zone and blew by him before putting a deke on Murray and scoring on a backhander.

Save of the game

Bobrovsky stopped Crosby's attempt to stuff a rebound shot by Phil Kessel early in the second period during a Pittsburgh power play and the score tied at 1-1.

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Unsung performance of the game

Columbus defenseman David Savard blanketed Crosby, especially in the third period. Crosby had five shots through two periods and none in the third. Savard was not on the ice for Crosby's goal and he had a plus-4 for the game.

Highlight of the game

Sam Gagner was being draped by Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin but still managed a one-handed pass to Karlsson from behind the net while he was falling. The goal gave Columbus a 2-1 lead.

They said it

"We made some mistakes. We were coming out with the right intentions but they got that quick goal and scored some goals from there. Unfortunately, we couldn't grab hold of the game from there." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby on the third period
"They believed they can win, where in the first period I thought we were wetting our pants, so it was a great process for a young team to go through the last two periods." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella on regrouping from early nervousness
"It's been our mentality to keep attacking teams no matter what the score is. We didn't do that in the first. We did in the second and third and it paid off for us." -- Blue Jackets forward Sam Gagner
"We got outplayed in the second. Having said that, we're still in the hockey game. We just couldn't play the game the right way in the third period and they broke it open." --Penguins coach Mike Sullivan

Need to know

Atkinson's goal was his 199th NHL point (101-98) in 331 games. … Crosby has points in 11 straight games at Nationwide Arena. He has five goals and 15 points during the streak. In 18 games vs. the Blue Jackets he has 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists). … Gagner has 10 goals and 20 points in his past 20 games. … The Penguins had the first six shots on goal but Columbus had an 18-16 advantage after two periods and 28-26 for the game. … Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky won 10 of 13 faceoffs.

What's next

Penguins: Host the New Jersey Devils on Friday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, ROOT, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Friday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, SNE, RDS, NHL.TV)