Bobrovsky wins goalie duel in game with postseason feel

There’s no substitute for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Few NHL regular-season games carry the weight and worry of a postseason game.

But the Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild — sudden titans of the NHL — have played two games that could safely be called playoff prep.

On Thursday night, the Blue Jackets beat the Wild 1-0 before 15,987 at Nationwide Arena, a game that mixed a nasty, physical edge with the angst of having every mistake magnified.

For the second straight game, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was locked in a goalie duel. This time he won, making 38 saves for his 16th career shutout and 33rd win of the season, a career high.

Forward Brandon Saad had the only goal, scoring off his rebound at 4:32 of the third period.

“You could see, when we got the goal, I thought we had some nervous moments there, in trying to protect the lead,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “It’s a natural instinct. You get nervous. Look around the league at the 1-0 games and 2-1 games. That’s what’s going to go on here in the final quarter of the season. It’s great experience for our team.”

The Blue Jackets, who lost 1-0 in overtime to Montreal on Tuesday, have played in back-toback 1-0 games for the first time. They improved to 5-1-1 in their past seven games and moved into second-place in the Metropolitan Division.

“This time of season, it’s going to be tightened up,” Bobrovsky said. “It’s tough to score now. The guys played defensively really tight. It’s fun to play this way.”

Asked if he had seen Bobrovsky play better, Saad smiled: “I mean, last game he was pretty good, too.”

Bobrovsky has a .969 save percentage (95 stops, 98 shots) in his past three outings. Savard, CBJ (tripping), 9:11; Folin, Minn, (holding), 11:55; Wennberg,

Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk made 39 saves. He has been the best goaltender in the league all season, and he was Bobrovsky’s equal with one exception.

Saad, who has been dropped in the lineup after spending most of the season on the No. 1 line, scored his 19th goal of the season in atypical fashion. He shot from the right circle off the rush, then followed the puck to the net and jabbed at it as Dubnyk struggled to handle it. The puck found a small gap behind the goalie’s left skate and skidded into the net.

“When things aren’t going your way, you try to get a little uglier,” Saad said. “I’ve been trying these past few games, and I’m still not getting the bounces. To get that one and have it be the game-winner, it feels great.

“For me, it was just trying to get a little bit uglier, and lucky it found a way in.”

It’s not the playoffs. Not yet. The Blue Jackets still have 20 games to play.

But the goals are getting greasier, the games are getting tighter, and goaltenders are starting to paint masterpieces.