Duchene has goal, assist for Blue Jackets in win against Sharks

COLUMBUS -- Matt Duchene had a goal and an assist in his home debut for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Sergei Bobrovsky got his second straight shutout in a 4-0 win against the San Jose Sharks at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.

Duchene was acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators on Friday and did not have a point that night in a 3-0 victory at Ottawa.
"The guys have been great so far," Duchene said. "The system's pretty straightforward. I'm learning new guys, the guys are learning me."
WATCH: [All Sharks vs. Blue Jackets highlights]
The Blue Jackets (35-23-3) have won seven of their past 10 games and trail the Washington Capitals by two points for second in the Metropolitan Division.
Bobrovsky, who made 26 saves, has five shutouts this season and 29 for his NHL career. It was his third in his past six games.
He is the first Blue Jackets goalie to have a shutout on consecutive days and the second in the NHL to do it this season (Marc-Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights, against the Calgary Flames and Sharks on Nov. 23-24).

"I try to work as hard as a I can day in and day out," Bobrovsky said. "You don't know what the result is. I thought the team was great, not only tonight, but last night."
The Sharks (36-18-8) had a six-game road winning streak end. They are second in the Pacific Division, three points behind the Flames.
"You have a few of those a year," San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said. "I don't know. We didn't execute. They were hungrier. They were desperate. They deserved to win."

Martin Jones made 19 saves on 23 shots in 49:05 before being replaced by Aaron Dell, who made three saves.
Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson did not play in the third period. His final shift ended at 7:35 of the second.
DeBoer said Karlsson may have "retweaked" a groin injury that caused him to miss nine games and will be evaluated before San Jose plays Sunday. This was Karlsson's fourth game back.
"We were as conservative and precautious as we can be but [with] muscle injuries, you don't know," DeBoer said. "Sometimes you get in positions [where] you overextend it."
Boone Jenner gave Columbus a 1-0 at 9:00 of the first period, finishing a centering pass from the right circle by Josh Anderson with a snap shot inside the left post.

Duchene made it 2-0 at 59 seconds of the second period, putting in the second rebound at the edge of the crease after Artemi Panarin's initial shot and a follow-up shot by Cam Atkinson. Duchene has 28 goals this season.
Atkinson said he and linemates Panarin and Duchene played better in their second game together.
"We played with a lot more confidence," Atkinson said. "We supported each other more. We did some good things. We played a pretty stingy team. I don't think we gave them much."
Duchene came within inches of a second goal, but Atkinson tapped in the puck lying close to the goal line just after Duchene touched it. The power-play goal made it 3-0 with eight seconds left in the second.
"They were good. We were bad," Sharks defenseman Brent Burns said. "You get back at it. You try to get back at it and get back to where we were. We've been playing well."
Pierre-Luc Dubois extended the lead to 4-0 when he scored through Jones' pads at 6:03 of the third period.
"There's depth on this team," Duchene said. "Hopefully I can bring another element to that and fit in, and so far, so good."

They said it

"They were better than us. There isn't much to it. On our side, we didn't put two passes together. We didn't generate much speed. They played a good game. They had the lead. They kind of smothered us at times." -- Sharks captain Joe Pavelski
"I was concerned about what we were going to do? Are we going to think we're tired or are we going to work through it? That's where I give our team credit." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella on Columbus winning back-to-back games

Need to know

San Jose forward Marcus Sorensen left the game early in the third period after taking a puck to the face. There was no update on him. ... The Sharks have been shut out four times this season, all on the road. Three of them were by a score of 4-0. San Jose has four shutout wins, all by a score of 4-0. … Blue Jackets center Alex Wennberg was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. … Anderson has four points (two goals, two assists) in his past four games and 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in his past 13. … Panarin had an assist and has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in his past 18 games.

What's next

Sharks: At the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; FS-D, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets:Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-O, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV)