Pierre-Luc Dubois delivered one heck of a late Christmas present to the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight: a game-winning overtime goal on the road against a divisional opponent.
The New York Rangers seemingly had Columbus right where they wanted them, too, leading late into the third period after a back-and-forth game for the first two frames. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored midway through the first period, but Jimmy Vesey had the answer for New York a few minutes later. David Savard had a highlight-reel goal (no, that's not a typo) late in the frame, but the Rangers got it back less than two minutes into the second.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| RANGERS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
The script was flipped a bit in the third period, with Chris Kreider giving the Rangers a 3-2 lead. Things looked bleak for Columbus before Zach Werenski came through in the clutch, tying up the game and giving Columbus some new life.
From there, the game went to overtime, and the extra frame lasted just 31 seconds before Pierre-Luc Dubois extended the Blue Jackets winning streak to five games – the longest streak in the league right now – blowing past Kevin Hayes down the wing and putting the puck past Lundqvist.
PLD IN OT#CBJ pic.twitter.com/QE82GA91eo
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 28, 2018
But let's get back to that Savard goal. A proverbial stay-at-home defenseman, it's quite a site to see him lead the rush, which he did late in the first period before firing home a rocket and going bar-down on Lundqvist.
Savard looking like a sniper out there. Lundqvist never saw it.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/uFp6cMrIUU
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 28, 2018
Sheesh.
One more positive thing to take away from tonight's effort is that John Tortorella is clearly putting that Men's Warehouse gift card he got for Christmas to good use, as he brought the #SweaterTorts look to one of the most fashion-forward cities in the world.
A brooding man wearing a stylish winter quarter-zip 8.7/10#CBJ pic.twitter.com/8ZvEMGjbGT
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) December 28, 2018
Injury Update
Nothing new to report here for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets will return to Columbus for their first home game since the holiday break on Friday against Toronto, then play another home game on Monday versus Ottawa before hitting the road.
