In Columbus, Frank Vatrano scored midway through the extra session on Tuesday, off a breakaway, to give the Anaheim Ducks a 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
“Just a quick transition play 3-on-3, Vatrano said. “I got the puck up north. … It was a great play, a great pass, and I was fortunate enough to put it into the net.
“It was a big team win tonight. We weren’t happy with our first, but the second and third was a team effort.”
Lukas Dostal made 35 saves in the win.
Emil Bemstrom scored at 16:49 of the first, off the power play, to give Columbus a 1-0 lead.
“I’m disappointed for the players,” Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said. “We had more than double the chances for, gave up 12 chances against.
“Anaheim is a hard-working team and they transition really well. But we had our chances, 17 shots in the third period, 28 chances total. These are games we usually win.”
The Ducks’ Ryan Strome tied the game at 15:49 of the middle frame.
“I thought our penalty killing really won the game for us. A lot of guys did a great job blocking shots,” Anaheim coach Greg Cronin said. “They just kept persevering. I thought we were flat in the first period, standing around watching them skate, and we kind of woke up in the second and third periods. Just really happy with the energy and the effort our guys played with.”
The Blue Jackets reclaimed the lead near the midway point of the third on a marker from Adam Fantilli .
“Anytime you get to score it feels good, but winning feels a lot better and I’m a little bitter about that,” Fantilli said.
Adam Larson forced the extra session with a goal at 16:13 of the third
“Big goal from our fourth line,” Vatrano said. “They’ve been great for us all year. It was nice for them to get rewarded. It’s awesome.”
Elvis Merzlikins made 24 saves in the loss.
“I actually thought our power play (1-for-7) was moving the puck well,” Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said. “We just didn’t find that extra one and they got a lucky bounce to tie it up at the end. It’s something to build on, but it’s a tough way to lose.”
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