Blue Jackets 2, Flames 1 (SO)
BLUE JACKETS 2, FLAMES 1 (SO): Rookie Cam Atkinson scored in the fourth round of the shootout and Steve Mason denied all four attempts as Columbus put a crimp in Calgary's postseason aspirations.
Defenseman Nikita Nikitin scored his fifth goal - and third this month - in the first period for the Blue Jackets, who saw their four-game losing skid come to an end.
Matt Stajan scored in his 600th career game and Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 17 shots for the Flames, who sit two points behind eighth-place Phoenix with only nine games remaining.
Calgary has dropped back-to-back games to the NHL's two worst teams. The Flames, who fell to provincial rival Edmonton on Friday, saw their five-game home winning streak end at the hands of Columbus.
After Curtis Sanford exited the contest in the first period with a lower body injury, Mason finished with 28 saves - including 16 in the second period. Mason then stopped Alex Tanguay, Olli Jokinen and Curtis Glencross in the first three rounds. Atkinson solved Kiprusoff and Mason preserved his fifth win in six outings by denying captain Jarome Iginla.
Nikitin opened the scoring with 6:57 remaining in the first period. After Columbus won an offensive zone faceoff, Nikitin accepted a feed from defenseman Brett Lebda and rifled a shot from the point past Kiprusoff.
Stajan leveled the contest at 8:34 of the third after converting a centering feed in front for his seventh goal.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Calgary's Lee Stempniak returned to the ice following a 21-game absence with an ankle injury. ... Tanguay left the contest after taking an elbow to the face from Jared Boll. He returned to start the third period.