Bobrovsky, Jackets blank Canes

In Columbus, Sergei Bobrovsky made 46 saves to help the Blue Jackets tie the Carolina Hurricanes for the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Jackets took a 3-0 decision thanks to Bobrovsky’s performance.

Sergei Bobrovsky picked up the shutout over the Canes on Friday – File photo by Brent Clark

“I felt good,” Bobrovsky said. “I saw lots of pucks, lots of shots from the outside. It allows me to get into my game, control my game. I saw the majority of the pucks and controlled the rebounds and played my game.”

Columbus improved to 40-28-3 to gain the tie with the Canes.

Carolina dropped to 38-25-7 and 10-3-1 in their last 14 matches.

“It was one of those night you almost know it’s not going to happen the way it was working,” Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We’ve had our goalie steal some games for us.”

Both clubs are only two points clear of the Montreal Canadiens.

“We played a pretty good first period, then I don’t know what happens,” Columbus head coach John Tortorella said.

“They’re a good team. They check well. They’re a fast team. For some reason we lost our intensity against a team as desperate as Carolina and as good and as quick as they play, it mounts on you.”

Adam McQuaid and David Savard scored for the Blue Jackets.

“The first 10 minutes we let them get a couple, then we finally got our legs going,” Hurricanes center Jordan Staal said. “We dominated the rest of the game but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Josh Anderson added a shorthanded, empty-net goal with under three minutes left in regulation.

“We can’t always rely on [Bobrovsky],” Anderson said. “We’ve got to get our game going. Down the stretch we have to get it figured out.”

[WATCH: All Hurricanes vs. Blue Jackets highlights]

Petr Mrazek made 17 saves in the loss.

“It’s super frustrating. That’s the tough part. That’s hockey. That game felt like the first 20 games,” Brind’Amour said, “We played pretty solid all the way around but couldn’t find a way to put one in. We gave it everything we had. We hoped for a better result, but it didn’t happen.”