The Blue Jackets were anything but perfect, but found a way to secure two points in a back-and-forth win over the Florida Panthers.
After starting the game with an early goal, the Blue Jackets faltered and went into the first intermission trailing 2-1. By late in the third period, Columbus had restored a 3-2 lead, but Aaron Ekblad tied it late to send it to overtime. Seth Jones and company needed just 18 seconds to pot the game-winner.
Here are your three things from a 4-3 OT win at BB&T Center:
Seth Jones, All-Star
Even Seth Jones acknowledged that he struggled in Friday night's 4-2 loss at Carolina. But the All-Star scored his sixth career overtime goal, tied for the franchise record, after a beautiful pass from Pierre-Luc Dubois.
CHEAT CODE.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/9rpY3cZ7Ad
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 6, 2019
Jones has a knack for joining the play, especially in overtime. He appeared at the perfect time to send the Blue Jackets home a winner. Worth mentioning is the whole play was made possible by Brandon Dubinsky, who won the overtime's opening face-off. Speaking of...
Brandon "Clutch" Dubinsky
Dubinsky has been inconsistent this season, but came up huge in the win. He won a boards battle against Aleksander Barkov, one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL, then went coast-to-coast in scoring the game-tying goal with just 6:58 remaining in regulation.
Gets the bucket to go, AND DRAWS THE FOUL.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/rDiOYnkPj0
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 6, 2019
Dubinsky has surely seen his role change, and perhaps nothing evidenced that more than his play in overtime. After cleanly winning the opening draw, he immediately changed for Dubois. Seconds later, Dubois set up Jones for the game-winner. The Blue Jackets will be a much more difficult team to beat if Dubinsky can provide a legitimate punch.
Secondary Scoring
John Tortorella, frustrated by the lack of production after his top five players, called out some players by name. Included in the group: Anthony Duclair, Josh Anderson, and Dubinsky. All three lit the lamp, and gave the top line a much needed "night off".
Without going back and counting, I can't imagine there are many game stories that resulted in wins in which Artemi Panarin and Cam Atkinson aren't mentioned. Saturday night was a step in the right direction, as the Blue Jackets desperately need to find consistent scoring outside of their top line.
The Blue Jackets play the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators, and Washington Capitals in the next seven days. They'll need production up and down the lineup if they're to have any success.
