Blue Jackets finally defeat Penguins, gain in playoff race

COLUMBUS-- The Columbus Blue Jackets ended an eight-game losing streak to the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 4-1 win at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.

Cam Atkinson scored twice, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves for the Blue Jackets (38-27-3), who are tied for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They and the Montreal Canadiens are two points behind the Penguins for the first wild card.
The Blue Jackets had not defeated the Penguins since Feb. 17, 2017.
WATCH: [All Penguins vs. Blue Jackets highlights]
"I personally didn't think about what the streak was, how the statistics in the past were," said Bobrovsky, who was scratched for a 3-0 loss at Pittsburgh on Thursday. "Every game is a new game and I prepare myself for the one game at a time."
Zach Aston-Reese scored for the Penguins (36-23-9), who lost for the first time in four games. Matt Murray made 29 saves, and Sidney Crosby had a six-game goal streak end and was minus-3.

"We didn't get the result," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "We've got to put it behind us and get ready for the next one. We're in playoff mode already and that's just the way it's going to be."
Boone Jenner, 11 seconds after his slashing penalty expired, took a pass from Josh Anderson and made it 1-0 at 2:31 of the first period, ending the Blue Jackets' scoring drought at 126:39.
"First shift I take a penalty, not ideal, but for them to go out there and kill it the way they did, we were jumping off that and got the momentum," Jenner said.
Atkinson made it 2-0 at 2:17 of the second period with his fourth shorthanded goal. Penguins forward Phil Kessel fell at the Columbus blue line and Atkinson skated in alone.
Murray was outstanding, even if he didn't think so.

In the first period he made a paddle save on Jenner's close-range shot and in the second made a blocker save on Markus Nutivaara at the left post that had the Columbus forward raising his arms thinking he had scored.
With less than eight minutes left in the third, Murray went post to post to make a save on Anderson on a 2-on-1 with Jenner.
"I don't think I was in a zone," Murray said. "I think I made some pretty bad reads, honestly. I got desperate on some of those. I got a little lucky, too, on some of them."
Sullivan disagreed.
"He was terrific," he said. "He made some 10-bell saves to keep us in the game. He gave us a chance. He was really good."
Aston-Reese made it 2-1 at 6:39, one-timing a shot from the left circle off a drop pass by Evgeni Malkin.
Oliver Bjorkstrand made it 3-1 at 16:59 after Matt Duchene passed to Ryan Dzingel, who skated between the circles and passed to Bjorkstrand near the right post.
The play was the type the Blue Jackets expected when they acquired Duchene and Dzingel in separate trades with the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 22 and 23.

"That's the way [Dzingel] and I have played all year," Duchene said. "Obviously we play hard, but we make plays. We did a lot of good things, especially in the third period. We were in their end almost every shift."
Atkinson made it 4-1 with an empty-net goal at 18:11. The forward, who has 38 goals this season, said coach John Tortorella wants him to shoot for the net even at the risk of an icing.
"As long as we're winning the draw, he wants us going for it every time," Atkinson said.

They said it

"The game had a playoff feel to it. It was physical. There wasn't a lot of room, so it was one of those games you've got to fight for every inch of ice." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
"The crowd got us going. We came out first shift and they were absolutely buzzing. It kind of brought our bench up, brought everyone up. The fans actually had a huge part in getting us fired up." -- Blue Jackets forward Ryan Dzingel

Need to know

Kessel played his 314th consecutive game to pass Ron Schock for second in Penguins history. Craig Adams played 319 straight games. Kessel had an assist for a four-game point streak (one goal, three assists). ... Malkin has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in an eight-game point streak against the Blue Jackets. He needs two points to become the 88th player to get 1,000 NHL points (391 goals, 607 assists). He'll become the fifth Russia-born player to hit that milestone. ... Anderson's assist on Jenner's goal was his 100th NHL point (59 goals, 41 assists) in 227 games. ... Atkinson has scored 21 goals in the second period. ... The Blue Jackets are 27-5-2 when scoring first.

What's next

Penguins: Host the Boston Bruins on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets: At the New York Islanders on Monday (Nassau Coliseum; 7 p.m. ET; MSG+, FS-O, NHL.TV)