Atkinson, Foligno re-emerge in victory
The Blue Jackets stretched their winning streak to six games with a mid-thirdperiod crescendo and a crowd-pleasing coda in Nationwide Arena on Friday night. Cam Atkinson and Nick Foligno reappeared as the Jackets scored three goals in the final 11 minutes of regulation and beat the Ottawa Senators 5-2.
There were 17,083 fans in attendance, and they were happy they didn’t have to chew on what is left of their nails for the full 60. Each of the Jackets’ five previous victories came by one goal, and three of them went beyond regulation.
“We weren’t sure what to expect in the third,” Jackets coach John Tortorella said.
What they got was a gamewinning goal from Atkinson, a snipe off a rush by Foligno and an empty-net goal by Tyler Motte. Atkinson, whose last goal had come Oct. 27, had a pair of goals on this night.
“I felt like I hadn’t scored in a year,” Atkinson said.
Foligno scored for the first time since Oct. 25.
The six-game winning streak is the Jackets’ longest since their epic, 16-game streak last season. The Jackets (15-7-1) sit atop the Metropolitan Division and are tied for the thirdhighest point total in the league.
They got off to a flying start against Ottawa, a nasty-trapping, wickedcounterattacking team. Think: Jacques Lemaire’s old get-it-and-go Devils, more than Ken Hitchcock’s old trapand-dump Stars.
The Jackets dominated possession in the first, during which they outshot the Senators 14-4. One of the Sens’ shots, though, was a simple finish of a two-on-one rush: Derick Brassard saucered the puck to Tom Pyatt, whose goal gave the visitors a 1-0
lead at 10:56 of the first period.
The Senators’ lead lasted 26 seconds — or the time it took Atkinson to poke the puck off the stick of Alexandre Burrows, take off on a naked breakaway, deke down Sens goalie Craig Anderson and tuck a wee forehand inside the right post. Just like that, it was 1-1.
The Jackets took a 2-1 lead at 7:28 of the second period on a goal by Markus Nutivaara, his first of the season and the third of his career. It was set up by Josh Anderson, who circumnavigated the Senators’ defense.
“Nobody stops that guy,” Nutivaara said of Anderson.
The Senators answered in Senatorial fashion when they took a blue-line turnover by Artemi Panarin and scored on a lightning counter by Mike Hoffman. Just like that, it was 2-2.
In the third period, the Jackets had to show the kind of patience that is becoming their hallmark. The Senators had the puck for minutes on end. The Jackets had trouble getting past the red line. Sergei Bobrovsky — who faced 12 shots through the first 40 minutes — finally got busy and, as he did, he entered a Zen-like state of ethereal limberness. He was particularly impressive during a penalty kill midway through the period.
“It’s hard to play that game as a goalie,” Tortorella said, referring to a long stretch of quiet followed by a whirlwind of business.
Atkinson stepped out of the penalty box and clapped one in from the top of the left circle at 10:40 of the third. A few minutes later, Sonny Milano sprang a rush for Foligno and Atkinson, and Foligno finished it off with an unhesitating wrist shot under the crossbar. That gave the Jackets a two-goal lead, and the crowd exhaled.