COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Boston Bruins 4-3 in a stunning win that kept the fans on the edge of their seat at Nationwide Arena Tuesday night. Columbus was seeking their 13th straight win where the Boston Bruins were going for a three game season series sweep against the Jackets. The Jackets hadn’t lost a game since November 23rd.
Boston Bruins center Ryan Spooner (51) carries the puck against the Columbus Blue Jackets in their game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Brent Clark/CSM
“When you start getting caught up in all the stuff, that’s when the game can fool you,” said Nick Foligno. “For us, it’s enjoying it with our fans and trying to get the next one.”
Goals, goals, goals, was the story of the first period. The Blue Jackets drew first blood with a goal by left winger Scott Hartnell assisted by Lukas Sedlak and Sam Gagner at 3:02. That goal was followed by a beautiful shot from the right face off circle by Seth Jones assisted by Hartnell and Brandon Saad at 8:47. Almost a minute later, the Jackets were up 3-0 with an unassisted goal by Matt Calvert. The Bruins would not leave the first period without a goal. David Backes opened up the scoring for Boston at 11:05 assisted by David Krejci making it 3-1. Austin Czarnik lit the lamp at 12:00 making it 3-2. Czarnik was assisted by Riley Nash and Torey Krug.
The second period was an arm-wrestling match between two teams who wouldn’t budge a centimeter. Then David Krejci tied the game 3-3, assisted by Ryan Spooner and Backes at 18:26. Back and forth action continued in the third period. All of a sudden Collin Miller was called for cross checking William Karlsson.
“Unfortunately a bad penalty at the wrong time of the game against the best power play in the League ended up costing us,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien.
The final killing blow came by a power play goal scored by Foligno on a rebound of his first shot.
Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Matt Calvert (11) fights for position against Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug (47) in their game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Brent Clark/CSM
“I knew we didn’t have much going on the power play.” said Foligno. “We were moving it around a lot, just not penetrating their net too much. I got a chance. I just wanted to stuff it and create some havoc in front and got another lucky bounce. His leg came off the post and I was able to stuff it in.”
Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella had the most interesting quote of the night as he was not happy with his team’s performance.
“I lit a match to the tape already.”
The Jackets are facing the Winnipeg Jets who are 20th in the league with 17-17-3 with 37 points on Thursday.
December 27, 2016: Boston Bruins center Ryan Spooner (51) fights for the puck against Columbus Blue Jackets center William Karlsson (25) in their game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Brent Clark/CSM
December 27, 2016: Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) and Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) observe the play in their game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Brent Clark/CSM
December 27, 2016: Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Matt Calvert (11) discusses the situation against the Boston Bruins in their game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Brent Clark/CSM
December 27, 2016: Columbus Blue Jackets center Alexander Wennberg (10) fights for the puck against Boston Bruins center Frank Vatrano (72) in their game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Brent Clark/CSM
December 27, 2016: Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Scott Hartnell (43) celebrates his goal against Boston with Columbus Blue Jackets center Sam Gagner (89) in their game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Brent Clark/CSM
December 27, 2016: Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) observes the play against the Columbus Blue Jackets in their game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Brent Clark/CSM
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