Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Jones’ OT goal lifts Blue Jackets
With his ailing coach suffering on the bench, Seth Jones put a quick end to overtime Thursday night.
Jones scored his second goal of the game 10 seconds into overtime to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets over the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3.
Columbus coach John Tortorella coached through flu-like symptoms and wore a hoodie over several layers of clothing on the bench. Assistant coach Brad Larsen said Tortorella “was shaking like a leaf.”
Jones ended Tortorella’s work night off a pass from Cam Atkinson, beating beat goalie Anthony Stolarz over his left shoulder. That helped Columbus recover from a frustrating 9-6 loss to Calgary on Tuesday night.
“(Tortorella) put me out there with great players and you just have to find an open area and they’ll find you,” Jones added. “I don’t score that without that great play from Cam.”
Brandon Dubinsky and Boone Jenner also scored for the Blue Jackets, and Atkinson extended his careerbest points streak to 12 consecutive games.
Two-time Vezina Award winner Sergei Bobrovsky allowed eight goals on 26 shots in the loss to the Flames but rebounded with 23 saves to improve to 12-3-1 against his former team.
Travis Sanheim scored a pair of third-period goals, and Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist for the Flyers, who were playing for the first time under new general manager Chuck Fletcher. Fletcher was hired Monday to replace Ron Hextall. It also was the debut on the bench for longtime NHL coach Rick Wilson, who was tabbed as an assistant to replace fired Gord Murphy.
Philadelphia, with 24 points, entered 15th of 16 teams in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers have lost seven of nine.
“It’s disappointing the way it ended,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. “That’s a hard way to lose the extra point.”
The game looked in hand when Jenner fired a quick wrist shot from the right circle past Stolarz’s glove 5:15 into the third to put Columbus up 3-1.
Sanheim pulled Philadelphia within 3-2 with 7:36 left in regulation when he used a strong move to beat Bobrovsky with a backhand shot from right in front of the crease after a nifty feed from Giroux. He tied it with 5:31 left in regulation with a wrist shot that went over Bobrovsky’s right shoulder after a perfect cross-ice pass from Jakub Voracek.
“We scored the third goal then let our foot off the gas,” Larsen said. “Guys were probably a little nervous and looked that way. But we found a way to get through it. Huge two points.”
Sanheim entered without a goal in 25 games this season and had just two in 74 career contests coming into Thursday.
Philadelphia’s problems were more of the same in the first period when the Blue Jackets outshot the hosts 12-5 while taking a 2-1 lead. Stolarz, the fifth Flyers goalie used this season due to injury and ineffectiveness, gave up a soft goal that allowed the Blue Jackets to tie the score at 1.