Blue Jackets top Flyers in shootout
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Blue Jackets wrapped up the pre-Christmas portion of the schedule with a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in a shootout on Saturday night at Nationwide Arena.
Pierre-Luc Dubois came through with the only goal in the shootout for the Blue Jackets (22-13-2), who had lost three of their previous four games.
The Flyers (15-13-8) picked up one point on the second night of a back-to-back despite losing both games.
Defenseman Seth Jones scored in the opening period for the Blue Jackets, and Ivan Provorov answered with the tying goal in the second period for the Flyers.
Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier each had an assist for the Flyers. Couturier nearly won the game with 17 seconds remaining in the third period, but his shot bounced off the goal post.
Oliver Bjorkstrand and Artemi Panarin were credited with assists for the Blue Jackets.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 stops for the Blue Jackets and Brian Elliott finished with 35 saves for the Flyers.
Provorov's fifth goal of the season tied it at 1 early in the second period. He stepped into a shot just inside the blue line and whistled the puck past Bobrovsky. Giroux and Couturier were credited with their 29th and 16th assists, respectively.
A go-ahead score for the Flyers was waved off with 1:39 remaining in the second period when replay review determined that a shot by Jakub Voracek was deflected by a high stick on the doorstep. The score remained 1-1.
At 17:08 of the first period, Jones scored the initial goal of the game. He took a return pass from Bjorkstrand on the power play and sent a rising shot from above the right circle off the left post.
The Blue Jackets are dead last in the NHL in power-play goals but have been improving in recent games. They've scored with the man-advantage in four straight games and five of their past six.
Less than a minute earlier, Columbus' Matt Calvert missed a golden opportunity for a short-handed goal on a breakaway when his bullet rattled off the crossbar.
NOTES: C Alexander Wennberg missed the game with an undisclosed injury. He left Thursday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third period and did not return. The team plans to make an announcement after Christmas, indicating that Wennberg could miss significant time. ... Blue Jackets D Zach Werenski remained sidelined with an undisclosed injury. There is no word how long he might be out. Werenski, who has missed the past three games, was the leading goal scorer among NHL defensemen at the time of his injury. ... Philadelphia's Shayne Gostisbehere was leading all NHL defensemen in power-play points with 16. ... The Flyers have not won in Columbus since 2005. ... The Blue Jackets recalled LW Jordan Schroeder and C Tyler Motte from Cleveland of the American Hockey League after sending F Sonny Milano to the Monsters. ... Flyers G Brian Elliott started his 11th consecutive game.