Korpisalo makes 25 saves, Blue Jackets blank Senators 1-0
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Once the Columbus Blue Jackets finally broke through for a goal, they made sure not to waste it.
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored 21 seconds into the third period and Joonas Korpisalo earned his second career shutout, lifting Columbus to a 1-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night.
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The win was the fourth in five games for the Blue Jackets (10-9-4) and it marked their fourth straight at home over Ottawa.
Korpisalo stopped 25 shots in his 10th victory. Craig Anderson made 18 saves for the Senators (11-12-1), who had won four in a row.
“We got some chances before (the goal), stayed patient and finally got the goal there. That was huge,” Korpisalo said. “I think we played really good after that.”
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It was nearly three minutes into the game before Columbus took a shot, and the Blue Jackets put just eight pucks on net through 30 minutes of play.
They finally found their stride at the start of the third period when Zach Werenski threw the puck toward the net from the blue line and it was tipped in by Bjorkstrand for his sixth goal of the season, extending his point streak to four games.
“They seemed to do a good job of making it hard for us,” Bjorkstrand said. “It was kind of both ways today. Just one of those games ... where one goal makes the difference.”
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Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella thought it was Bjorkstrand who made the difference.
“I said to him on the bench, if there’s someone who deserves that goal, it’s you,” Tortorella said. “I thought he was playing really well. He’s been really consistent. He’s turning into that guy. That’s what we expect out of him now — how hard he is on the puck, how hard he is in that area, and the puck follows him around.”
Werenski’s assist pushed his point streak to seven games, and Boone Jenner’s assist was the 100th of his career.
Ottawa’s best scoring chance came when Connor Brown got a 1-on-1 with Korpisalo at 8:36 of the third, but couldn’t beat him.
“There wasn’t much out there for either team,” Senators coach D.J. Smith said. “We made a few too many mistakes with the puck tonight — some young mistakes. The effort was there. They stayed with it a little bit longer than we did, got us on an icing and then scored off the faceoff.”
NOTES: Ottawa’s Mikkel Boedker played for the first time after being a healthy scratch in nine straight games dating back to Nov. 5. ... Anthony Duclair played his first game in Columbus after being traded last February. ... The Blue Jackets have scored first in eight consecutive games. ... Ottawa went 0 for 3 with the man advantage and remains last in the NHL with eight power-play goals in 83 chances.
