RESULT: The Columbus Blue Jackets reach 50 wins for the first time in franchise history.
DATE: Sunday, April 9, 2017
LOCATION: Toronto
WHAT HAPPENED: Skidding into the game on a six-game losing streak, the Blue Jackets were looking like dead men walking as the playoffs approached.
Their late season slide was puzzling and infuriating at the same time. They met a determined Toronto Maple Leafs team in the regular season finale with the Leafs needing a win to avoid the Washington Capitals in the first round. Only a couple of nights prior, the Leafs had clinched a playoff spot
For a game that wasn't supposed to mean anything, the Blue Jackets played spoiler.
It wasn't going to come easy, however. The Blue Jackets didn't scratched Alexander Wennberg, Scott Hartnell and Seth Jones in anticipation of the first round of the playoffs. Backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo was minding the pipes.
After a scoreless first period, the second period got lit. Toronto forward James van Riemsdyk started it off with a nifty individual effort to give the Leafs the first lead of the game.
Three minutes later, van Riemsdyk scored again, beating Korpisalo with a shot from the left circle. The Blue Jackets were staring at a two-goal hole with six remaining in the first.
No one would've faulted the Jackets if they had just let the Leafs have this game without much of a fight. That isn't who the Blue Jackets were this year.
As had been in the case so many times during the season, Columbus got its spark. This time, Matt Calvert was the one who provided it.
Calvert took a pass from Boone Jenner and slipped the puck through Curtis McElhinney's five-hole.
The Blue Jackets were on the board and the seized the moment. A Josh Anderson goal would tie the game five minutes later thanks to a slick William Karlsson pass.
The proverbial cherry on top would come from Cam Atkinson, who scored the eventual game-winning goal shorthanded. After the game, he discussed the confidence of his team.
"We played with arrogance tonight," said Atkinson. "I thought every line contributed and our defense were making great plays. It feels good going into [the Eastern Conference First Round against the] Pittsburgh [Penguins]."
And why wouldn't it energize them? They played without some of their best players and were able to hold on in the third period for the win. The Blue Jackets broke a six-game losing streak, their longest of the season, in the process.
Most importantly, it was win No. 50, a new franchise record.
"They should feel good about themselves," Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella said at the time. "It's been a little while, but they get to put the music on, so I'm happy."
