Sergei Bobrovsky turned in a performance last night reminiscent of the many he turned in last season en route to winning the Vezina Award. He stopped all 36 shots he faced and finished with his second shutout of the season as the Jackets downed Carolina 3 - 0.
Brandon Dubinsky continued his stretch of superlative play tallying his ninth goal of the season. He now has points in three straight and 14 in his last 17 contests.
Boone Jenner put Columbus on the board in the first frame netting his sixth of his rookie campaign.
Cam Atkinson finished with a goal and an assist and now has goals in back-to-back games.
Despite the offensive contributions from Dubinsky, Atkinson and Jenner, it was Bob who stole the show. Dubinsky and Nathan Horton were effusive in their praise for the Columbus netminder.
"Bob was the Bob we've grown to love," said Dubi.
"He showed why he's one of the best goalies in the game," Horton said. "It's great for us to have him."
Bob was at his best during a two-man Canes power play stopping rookie Elias Lindholm twice from in close in the third period. He got a little showy a couple minutes later as he gloved a wrist shot from Zach Boychuk and held it out for the crowd to see.
The win pulled Columbus to within four points of the second wild card spot in the East while dropping Carolina out of a playoff position.
Tonight the Jackets are in Winnipeg to take on the Jets at the MTS Centre. It appears that Bobrovsky will get a well deserved break tonight with Curtis McElhinney getting the nod between the pipes. Ondrej Pavelec will be in net for the Jets.
Evander Kane will miss tonight's game with a hand injury. The Jets will employ Dustin Byfuglien at forward in an attempt to spark the Jets attack. He made a name for himself during the Blackhawks cup run in 2010 as a forward, tallying 11 goals in 22 playoff games. He was traded to the then-Atlanta Thrashers that offseason. He has played primarily defense since with just a couple of brief cameos up front.
In other news, after naming Tim Murray as their new GM, the Buffalo Sabres also announced they have hired Craig Patrick away from the Blue Jackets. He will act as a Special Assistant/Advisor in the Sabres front office.
The presence of club president John Davidson, GM Jarmo Kekalainen and former player agent Bill Zito in as an assistant GM makes it little surprise Patrick moved on. His role and influence had likely diminished in the last year and now he moves on to a new challenge. Best of luck to Mr. Patrick.