After dropping a 5 - 2 decision to Buffalo Saturday night snapping the Jackets' franchise best eight-game winning streak, it appeared the Jackets were well on their way to beginning another winning stretch Monday. Then in a matter of moments it all caved in. Holding a 2 - 0 lead halfway through period three, Carolina scored three goals in a span of 2:47 to grab the win away from Columbus. The Canes had lost seven straight in the series to the Jackets but gladly skated away with the victory and moved into third place in the Metro Division, leapfrogging Columbus in the process.
Sergei Bobrovsky had turned away all 30 shots through 2 1/2 frames until Carolina captain Eric Staal broke the ice. Staal took a pass from Alex Semin and skated in on the LW releasing a wrist shot from the faceoff circle that beat Bob through the five-hole.
It turned into the Staal period in the third for Carolina as Eric would tie the game up exactly one minute after putting the Canes on the board. Brother Jordan put Carolina up for good :47 later beating Bob with a backhand shot from the slot.
Bob was pretty good up until that first goal by Staal, Eric. E. Staal has a good release but I thought that was one Bob should have had. The game-winner was another one Bob didn't look comfortable on.
The second E. Staal goal was the result of an excellent forecheck and pass by Jiri Tlusty. Tlusty shoved Fedor Tyutin off the puck below the goal line and fed Staal in the slot. E. Staal fired home a one-time shot.
Derek MacKenzie and RJ Umberger scored for the Jackets. MacKenzie put home a loose puck after a Tyutin shot from the left point deflected off the post and Carolina goalie Anton Khudobin's skate.
Umberger cashed in on a terrific pass from Ryan Johansen to push the Jackets lead to two. Jack Johnson made the play along the LW boards stealing a clearing attempt and moving the puck down to Johansen. Johansen tapped a no-look pass back to a wide-open Umberger who found the back of the net.
That play showed the maturation of Johansen this season. He has an awareness he hasn't shown consistently before and knows where his linemates are or should be at any given moment.
The loss dropped the Jackets out of a wildcard slot and they now sit one point back of Detroit for the final playoff position in the East. Columbus is back at it tonight hosting the Ottawa Senators with another critical two points on the line. The Senators are two points behind Columbus so it's incumbent on the Jackets to find a way to get a W tonight.