Anderson nets OT winner as Blue Jackets defeat Jets
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Josh Anderson scored with 2:22 remaining in overtime and the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied for a 2-1 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night at Nationwide Arena.
The Jets (4-4-1) lost an overtime game on the road for the second night in a row after falling by the same score in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
Winnipeg had jumped out to an early lead but couldn't make the goal stand up. The Blue Jackets scored the tying goal at 10:23 of the third period when Cam Atkinson batted a loose puck in front of the net past Jets goaltender Steve Masons with a backhand shot.
Brandon Tanev had opened the scoring for the Jets at 4:52 of the first period.
The win gave the Blue Jackets (7-3-0) their best 10-game start in franchise history and finished a four-game homestand with their second straight win. Columbus began the 2007-08 season with a 6-3-1 record for their previous best start.
Sergei Bobrovsky faced 30 shots in goal for the Blue Jackets and stopped 29. Mason had 35 saves and fell to 0-4 for the season.
The Jets came out after the opening faceoff and didn't resemble a team that played the night before. They maintained puck possession in the Blue Jackets' zone for much of the first half of the opening period and registered the first goal at 14:52.
A Winnipeg shot from the right circle trickled through Bobrovsky's pads and lay motionless in the crease momentarily before Tanev reached behind the goalie and tapped the puck over the goal line.
The Jets had a 9-2 advantage in shots during the first 6:15, but the Blue Jackets killed three power plays in the first 20 minutes and outshot Winnipeg 8-3 the rest of the period.
Neither team was able to convert a power-play opportunity all night. The Jets were 0 of 6 and the Blue Jackets were 0 of 4.
NOTES: The Jets were playing their first back-to-back games on a brief road trip. They return to Winnipeg for a Sunday game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who beat the Jets 2-1 in overtime on Thursday. Winnipeg plays a season-low nine back-to-backs this season. ... The Blue Jackets wore lavender jerseys during the pregame skate on Hockey Fights Cancer night. C Nick Foligno and C Zac Dalpe both lost their mothers to cancer. ... C Pierre-Luc Dubois will stay with the Blue Jackets rather than go back to juniors. The 19-year-old rookie played in his 10th game and his entry-level contract went into effect. ... The Jets and Blue Jackets played for the second and final time of the regular season.