Blue Jackets defeat Kings for 10th straight win
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Cam Atkinson scored two goals in regulation and the Columbus Blue Jackets extended their winning streak to a franchise-best 10 games with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night in Nationwide Arena.
Sam Gagner scored the winning goal in the shootout as Columbus matched the Philadelphia Flyers with the longest win streak in the NHL this season.
Atkinson scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season and second of the game early in the third period to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead. Brandon Dubinsky centered a pass from behind the net and Atkinson fired the bouncing puck past screened Kings goaltender Peter Budaj.
Kings center Jeff Carter knotted the score at 2 with his second goal of the game after a Blue Jackets turnover in front of backup goaltender Curtis McElhinney with 9:44 remaining. The unassisted goal was his 16th of the season.
Carter had the Kings' only goal in the shootout against McElhinney.
McElhinney was phenomenal in goal, finishing with 44 saves for the Blue Jackets. Budaj had 25 saves for the Kings.
The Blue Jackets' last loss came in a shootout at Florida on Nov. 26 and their last loss on home ice was a 2-0 shutout by Calgary on Nov. 23.
The Blue Jackets broke through at 7:35 of the second period with the first goal of the game. Atkinson took a pass across the goal mouth from Brandon Dubinsky and deposited the puck in the back of the net past Budaj's glove hand.
The Kings scored the equalizer on a power play at 16:12 of the second period. Carter was waiting on the doorstep after Alec Martinez's shot went through the crease and the former Blue Jackets center beat McElhinney to make it 1-1.
Returning from a three-game trip to western Canada, the Blue Jackets started slowly. The NHL's highest scoring team was held without a goal in the first period and outshot 12-8 by the Kings. Columbus was also 0 of 2 on the power play in the opening 20 minutes.
McElhinney showed no rust in goal in just his fifth game of the season, making several point-blank saves in the first two periods with the Kings outshooting the Blue Jackets 25-16.
NOTES: The Blue Jackets led the NHL in scoring at 3.34 goals per game and had allowed the second fewest goals (2.07) heading into Tuesday's games. Last season, the Jackets gave up nearly one goal more per game (3.02). ... Columbus' top six defensemen are young, with the starters averaging 23.5 years old. ... The Blue Jackets had given up fewer than three goals in nine consecutive games before a 4-3 overtime win over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. ... The Blue Jackets won their 20th game at Vancouver. They didn't reach 20 wins last season until Feb. 4. ... The Kings are in the midst of a seven-game road trip. ... Kings RW Dustin Brown remained sidelined with an upper-body injury. ... Blue Jackets backup G Curtis McElhinney started in place of Sergei Bobrovsky, the NHL leader with 19 wins. ... The Kings are one of only five teams to beat the Blue Jackets this year, winning 3-2 in overtime on Oct. 25 in LA.