Back where it started.
Thursday night's second of a home-and-home between the Blue Jackets and Flyers saw the return of Cam Atkinson to Nationwide Arena. Atkinson spent 10 seasons in Columbus as a member of the Blue Jackets.
After an early Blue Jackets goal, it was all Flyers as Philadelphia skated away to a 4-1 victory.
Shortly after a tribute video for Atkinson, who is second in Blue Jackets franchise history in shorthanded goals, Columbus struck shorthanded at the 15:06 mark. Eric Robinson put it home for his ninth goal of the season and second shorthanded tally of the year. Assists went to Vladislav Gavrikov and Sean Kuraly.
A SHORTY PUTS CBJ ON THE BOARD!#CBJ pic.twitter.com/tfglet8vBp
— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) April 7, 2022
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| FLYERS | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
The first period ended with Philadelphia and Columbus tied in shots at nine, but the Blue Jackets leading 1-0 on the scoreboard. Columbus had the opportunity twice in the first period to extend its lead with two power plays. Unfortunately, the Blue Jackets weren't able to capitalize on either opportunity.
Philadelphia evened things up in the second at the eight-minute mark on an unassisted goal from former Blue Jacket, Kevin Connauton.
The Flyers then took the lead at the 13:26 mark on a goal from Owen Tippett. Assists went to Travis Sanheim and Kevin Hayes. Philadelphia scored their third unanswered goal at the 16:41 mark on a shot from Noah Cates. Assists went to Ivan Provorov and Kevin Hayes.
The second period ended with the Flyers leading 21-19 in the shot category and 3-1 on the scoreboard.
The Flyers extended their lead to 4-1 at the 16:55 mark on a goal from Travis Konecny. Assists went to Morgan Frost and James van Riemsdyk. The third period ended with the Flyers leading in the shot category 31-27 and 4-1 on the scoreboard.
The Flyers' 4-1 victory prevented a sweep of the season series by the Blue Jackets. Columbus won the first two meetings at Wells Fargo Center on Jan. 20th, 2-1, and on Tuesday, 4-2.
Columbus struggled to stay out of the penalty box Thursday night racking up eight minutes in four trips to the box. Fortunately for Columbus, their penalty kill came up strong again as they prevented the Philadelphia power play from capitalizing on its opportunities.
Injury Update
Goalies Daniil Tarasov and Joonas Korpisalo remain sidelined indefinitely with hip injuries. Forward Boone Jenner remains week-to-week with a lower back injury. Forward Yegor Chinakhov is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets hit the ice next when they travel to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit to take on the Red Wings at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.
