Blue Jackets 4, Oilers 3 (SO)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Blue Jackets wondered what it would take for them to win back-to-back games this season. The answer: a perfect performance by goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Jackets won 4-3 in a shootout in Nationwide Arena, thanks to a flawless relief performance by Bobrovsky, who stopped all 21 shots he faced in regulation and two more in the shootout.
Derek MacKenzie, Vinny Prospal and Jack Johnson scored for the Blue Jackets, who have a four-game point streak for the first time since March 8, 2012.
Mark Letestu and Artem Anisimov scored in the shootout for the Blue Jackets, while Bobrovsky stopped attempts by Edmonton's Sam Gagne and Ales Hemsky.
Jeff Petry, Ryan Whitney and Magnus Paajarvi scored for the Oilers, while Devan Dubnyk had 34 saves.
Edmonton has dropped three straight.
The Blue Jackets killed off a two-minute penalty early in overtime -- a 4-on-3 advantage for the Oilers -- to preserve the point.
Neither team could hold a lead, and the back-and-forth scoring started early.
Edmonton, which won in Columbus on Feb. 10 despite being outshot 40-14, scored only 4:23 into the game to take a 1-0 lead. Jeff Petry's shot from the blue line sailed past an unsuspecting Mason thanks to a screen in front of him by the Oilers' Ryan Jones.
The Blue Jackets pulled to a 1-1 tie at 7:54 of the first, when Jared Boll fed MacKenzie on the doorstep for tap-in.
The Jackets pushed the lead to 2-1 when Prospal found a loose puck under Dubnyk and jammed it home from close range.
But the Oilers kept pushing, and the Blue Jackets couldn't hold them off -- not with Mason in goal, anyway.
With 1:17 left in the first period, Whitney found open space in the right circle, skated in on Mason and fired a wrister that split Mason's pads. It was 2-2.
Only 31 seconds into the second, the Oilers took the lead. Paajarvi skated past Jackets winger Nick Foligno for a clean look at Mason, and scored with ease to make it 3-2.
At that point, Richards had seen enough of Mason. He was pulled after stopping only five of eight shots, replaced by Bobrovsky.
The Blue Jackets took Mason off the hook at 10:44 of the second when Johnson scored from the slot off a feed from center Derick Brassard behind the net to make it 3-3.
The rest of the second period devolved into a muck fest, with both clubs struggling to connect on even simple passes. Most of the scoring chances were created by turnovers in the defensive zone, not skating and passing.
The most thrilling part of the game was overtime. Edmonton's Jordan Eberle had two prime chances from low in the left circle, but Bobrovsky's right pad deflected both of them.
Columbus nearly ended it with 43.8 seconds remaining, but Johnson's shot from the high slot clanged off a post.
NOTES: Oilers young stars Taylor Hall (hamstring) and Jordan Eberle (hand) were considered questionable to play in the game, but declared themselves able to play after the morning skate. ... Blue Jackets winger Matt Calvert was given a game misconduct only 5:36 into the game when he fought Edmonton's Jeff Petry without his sweater properly tied down. It was the first fight of Calvert's career. ... The Jackets announced that defenseman John Moore would miss up to three weeks with a shoulder injury.
