Blue Jackets complete comeback, beat Flyers in shootout
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Boone Jenner scored late in the third period and again in the shootout after Cam Atkinson's tying goal with 8 seconds left, rallying the Columbus Blue Jackets to an improbable 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.
Jenner scored in the fifth round of the shootout when he faked goalie Steve Mason out of the net and fired the puck in. Sergei Bobrovsky turned away Sean Couturier moments later to secure the victory.
Jenner and Atkinson both scored in the final 1:04 of regulation to force the extra session. Atkinson lifted a shot over Mason to tie it 2-all after Jenner tipped in a shot by Seth Jones nearly a minute earlier.
Mason finished with 51 saves for the Flyers, who blew a two-goal lead in the final 65 seconds but still earned a point. That was enough to pull them into a tie with Detroit for the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
Ryan White and captain Claude Giroux scored for the Flyers. The loss was Philadelphia's eighth straight in Columbus since December 2005.
— NHL Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 23, 2016
— NHL Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 23, 2016
White shoved home a power-play goal through Bobrovsky's legs at 11:54 of the third to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead. Bobrovsky stopped shots from Brayden Schenn and Couturier initially, but White found the net on the third try.
Giroux scored at 11:42 of the first, firing a quick shot past Bobrovsky off a feed from Schenn.
Schenn gained possession after Columbus defenseman Ryan Murray couldn't handle the puck, then hit Giroux, who found the back of the net for his 20th goal of the season.
Bobrovsky finished with 31 saves to earn his second win in five tries since his March 11 return from a groin injury. The win gave him 96 with the Blue Jackets, which tied the franchise record set by Mason form 2008-13.
Columbus traded Mason to Philadelphia on April 3, 2013.
The Blue Jackets dominated possession of the puck ahead of the goal, but failed to capitalize despite recording 15 shots and two power plays in the period. Giroux's score came on Philadelphia's fourth shot of the game.
A scoreless second ended with Columbus on the power play, but the Blue Jackets couldn't beat Mason on either side of intermission. Columbus' best opportunity to even the score before White's goal came nearly 9 minutes into the final period, but Mason stopped a shot from William Karlsson with his left leg and covered the puck before it slipped away.
NOTES: Columbus forward Jared Boll received a game misconduct for a blind-side hit on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare as the Flyers turned up ice with possession. A scrum ensued, but Boll was the lone player ejected. ... Columbus hosts Carolina on Thursday before embarking on a four-game road trip that starts Monday in Nashville.
