COLUMBUS, Ohio – This is a tale of two teams from different parts of the scale. The injury-plagued Columbus Blue Jackets came into this game ranked 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 33-35-4 record with 70 points. On the other end was the top-ranked 
Western Conference-leading Anaheim Ducks with a record of 46-21-7. This game was a tug of war by two teams who fought like dogs over the last bone of the doggie bag.
Some would have said the game would be won by the Ducks. The 5-3 win by the Jackets told a whole different story.
The Ducks drew first blood with a power play goal by Ryan Kesler assisted by Richard Rakell and Kyle Palmieri at 06:11. This was Kesler’s 19th of the year. Andrew Cogliano beat Jacket’s net-minder Sergei Bobrovsky with a beautiful backhand, scoring his thirteenth of the year. The Jackets were down but not out. Scott Hartnell started the comeback with an incredible tip in provided by Ryan Johansen and Jack Johnson at 15:35.
Johanson got his second point of the night as he tipped in a feed from Cam Atkinson as he slid into the net at 7:41 of the second period tying the game at 2-2. The goal was not without controversy as Toronto had to be consulted.
Anaheim would strike back and retake the lead on a goal by Matt Beleskey with a nice shelf shot over Bobrovsky making it 3-2 Anaheim at 10:05. Hartnell would score his second goal of the night fed by William Karlsson and Mark Dano at 10:37.
Nick Foligno scored his 26th of the year with assists by Jeremy Morin and Artem Anisimov giving the Jackets a 4-3 lead at the end of the 2nd period.
With eight minutes left in the third period Bobrovsky made a diving stretch of a save stopping Rakell and keeping the victory alive. With the clock ticking down in the final minute Cam Atkinson would send the puck down ice as Hartnell would score his eighth hat trick beating Sami Vatanen in a footrace for the puck. Fans boomed with excitement as the ice was covered with hats.
“You do [think about it] anytime you get a couple of goals, especially when there’s still half a game left,” he said. “You never go out there with the intent to get a hat trick, but with power play and being out there with good players, I’ve got a chance.” said Hartnell about his hat trick.
The game ended with a 5-3 Columbus victory. Both teams fought hard to put goals on the scoreboard. Anaheim played well but had a few miscues on defense and the Jackets capitalized on them. In the end the Columbus Blue Jackets emerged victorious.
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