Jackets fortunate in loss
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Blue Jackets blew a threegoal lead, lost defenseman Ryan Murray to an apparent hand injury and still left town feeling a bit lucky.
It could have been worse. It could have been far worse.
Although the Jackets suffered a 5-3 loss Saturday night to the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center, their leading scorer Cam Atkinson
returned to the game after a scary secondperiod injury involving a skate blade to the left shoulder.
Atkinson, who required 17 stitches to close the gash, nearly tied the score in the final minute but was denied on an outstanding save from Sabres goalie Robin Lehner.
“I definitely have a couple of guardian angels looking out for me,” said Atkinson, who was clipped by the skate blade of Sabres forward Marcus Foligno. “I got a skate to the face a couple of years ago and it didn’t touch my eye. This, it could have been my neck, it could have been other damage, nerve damage. I’ve got to just count my lucky stars.”
Sabres forward Evander Kane scored the winner on the power play with 2:29 remaining and Boone Jenner in the box for hooking. Jack Eichel added an emptynetter as Buffalo erased a 3-0 first-period deficit, ended the Jackets’ threegame winning streak and denied them the chance to set the franchise record for most wins and points in a season.
But after the game, a lot of discussion in the Jackets locker room was focused on Marcus Foligno, brother of Jackets captain Nick Foligno. Midway through the second period, Marcus Foligno barreled into the corner and finished a check on Atkinson, who already was down on the ice along the boards.
The collision occurred an instant after Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky drilled Tyler Ennis, who has a history of concussions.
As Foligno wheeled to confront Dubinsky, his right skate blade caught the shoulder of Atkinson, who immediately went to the locker room, his jersey ripped from where the skate caught him.
The Blue Jackets were furious with Foligno, but none accused him of intentionally stepping on Atkinson. They were upset Foligno went to hit a player who was in a vulnerable position. Atkinson missed the remainder of the second period but returned for the third.
“(Atkinson) is on his knees, his head is at the dasher and (Foligno) comes in and tries to finish a hit — it’s just a dumb play,” said Scott Hartnell, who took 16 minutes of penalties at the end of the second period while trying to get at Foligno.
It was a physical, testy game. The Blue Jackets received firstperiod goals from David Savard, Nick Foligno and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Jake McCabe, Matt Moulson and Sam Reinhart had second-period goals for the Sabres. The Jackets lost Murray less than four minutes in after he was struck in the hand by an Ennis shot. It forced a club playing its second game in as many nights to play 56 minutes with five defensemen.
Coach John Tortorella said Lehner, who replaced Anders Nilsson after the first period,
made key stops in the second period when the Blue Jackets still led 3-2. He was upset his goalie, Joonas Korpisalo, couldn’t make the stop on Reinhart’s shot with three seconds left in the second.