Dubinsky, Blue Jackets edge Penguins in overtime thriller
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets provided a sellout crowd at Nationwide Arena with a captivating look at what the first round of the playoffs might look like.
The high-energy Friday game between the Metropolitan Division rivals had tight checking, big hits, 78 shots on goal, stunning saves and an edge-of-the-seat overtime, in which Columbus prevailed 2-1.
“It feels really good, especially against those guys in a packed building,” Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky said after he won it with a top-shelf shot over Matthew Murray 1:04 into OT. “The fans were awesome tonight.” The Blue Jackets have won three of their past four and moved to within one point of Pittsburgh for second place in the rough Metropolitan Division. NHL
“They have a lot of energy in this building,” said Ian Cole, who scored Pittsburgh’s goal.
Sergei Bobrovsky had 38 saves, and Ryan Murray also scored for Columbus. Matthew Murray stopped 37 shots.
The Penguins were playing the second game of a back-to-back and coming off a 4-3 overtime win over Winnipeg on Thursday.
Avalanche 2, Hurricanes 1, OT — At Raleigh, N.C., Mikko Rantanen scored with 37 seconds left in overtime to back Calvin Pickard, who had 28 saves, as Colorado (16-38-2) snapped a five-game skid and improved to 6-2 in overtime.
Panthers 4, Ducks 1 — At Anaheim, Calif., Jaromir Jagr scored the go-ahead goal in the second period to back James Reimer, who had 35 saves, as Florida won its third straight and sixth in seven games.