The Columbus Blue Jackets walked into the CONSOL Energy Center as they hoped to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins. They did exactly that as the Blue Jackets added another “W” defeating the Penguins by a final score of 2-1.
The Blue Jackets began the scoring when winger Scott Hartnell slipped one past Penguins tendy Marc-Andre Fleury to take a 1-0 lead in the first period, scoring his 14th goal of the year.
The Penguins would later answer back when Evgeni Malkin picked up his 22nd goal of the season in the second period of the match-up which would tie up the game.
Then came a beauty and a blessing for Columbus, when Brandon Dubinsky stole a pass from Matt Calvert past Fleury and giving the Jackets a 2-1 lead with 2:17 remaining in the affair. A goal which eventually gave the Columbus Blue Jackets their 26th win of the season.
Curtis McElhinney held the Penguins in check all game and has looked like a quality replacement for Sergey Bobrovsky, who is currently injured. McElhinney saved 42 of 44 shots, an impressive feat against a team like the Penguins.
It will take a miracle but Columbus still has a shot to slip into the playoffs. On the other side of things, there is no worry of playoffs for the Pittsburgh despite the erratic play that have been played as of late.
The Columbus Blue Jackets will travel to Montreal to take on the Blue Jackets on Saturday at 7 pm.
