It wasn't always pretty, but the Blue Jackets will take it.
Playing their third game in less than 72 hours, Columbus used Alexander Wennberg's second-period goal to snap a short two-game losing skid and down the Philadelphia Flyers by 1-0 score in front of 19,052 in Nationwide Arena.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FLYERS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BLUE JACKETS | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky won his NHL-best 40th game of the year with his seventh shutout, making 36 saves to move Columbus to 48-19-7 on the year.
"We found a way to win, and that's huge," Boone Jenner said.
Wennberg's goal, his first since Feb. 26, came at the 13:11 mark of the second period. Columbus defenseman Kyle Quincey intercepted a pass at the right point and crashed down into the circle before firing a shot that Wennberg tipped expertly between the legs of Philadelphia goalie Michal Neuvirth. It was Quincey's first point as a Jacket.
Other than that, chances were few and far between, though the same could not be said of physical play. A number of examples of crease-crashing led to kerfuffles, including matching minors for Wayne Simmonds and Brandon Dubinsky in the first, a bout between Jenner and Radko Gudas in the second, and another set of matching minors to David Savard and Jakub Voracek late in the middle frame.
From there, Columbus played team defense to bring it home, including a big shot block by Savard in the final seconds as Philadelphia emptied the net and Valtteri Filppula had a chance from the slot.
Columbus finished with just 21 shots on goal and was again scoreless on the power play, finishing 0 for 2. Philadelphia was 0 for 3.
Matinee Idols
Columbus won its third straight weekend matinee. The Jackets played back-to-back 1 p.m. games last weekend, downing the Islanders on Saturday before beating the Devils, both on the road.
Next Up
Columbus has three days off before hosting Buffalo at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night.
