Jackets Hold Off Edmonton and Improve to Above .500 At Nationwide Arena

Tuesday night was a microcosm of the Jackets' season for its fans, except for the fact that the team won.

The Jackets seemed to on their way to a home victory with an early flurry of shots and a Vinny Prospal goal (team-leading ninth of the season) to put them up 2-1 after trailing early.

With 1:17 remaining in the first period, Mason gave up a game-tying goal scored by Ryan Whitney.  The Jackets found a way to outshoot the Oilers 14-7 in the first period and still be tied at two going into intermission.

Once again, this is a microcosm of the season.  So the beginning of the second period is where it gets worse.  Only 31 seconds into the 2nd, Magnus Paajarvi scored his fourth goal of the season to put Edmonton up 3-2.  In less than two minutes of regulation time, the Jackets found a way to go from leading 2-1 with plenty of confidence, to losing 3-2 with a rather upset home crowd.

Segway.

Enter Sergei Bobrovsky.

After entering the game with 19:29 in the 2nd period, Bobrovsky stopped all 21 shots he faced including a phenomenal save in overtime.    

Columbus defenseman Jack Johnson scored his second goal of the season to tie the game at three with 9:16 remaining in the 2nd period, but the story of the game was Bobrovsky's outstanding relief performance.

The Columbus Blue Jackets won in a shootout over the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday night by a final of 4-3.  The Jackets are over .500 at Nationwide Arena for the first time this season (5-4-3 record at home).

Artem Anisimov and Mark Letestu scored in the shootout while Bobrovsky continued his dominance not allowing an Oiler to get the puck in the net.

Jackets Head Coach Todd Richards did a magnificent job of keeping his team composed after a disappointing turn of events that put the team in a 3-2 hole.    

Columbus has now had eight consecutive one-goal games (five on the road and three at home).  The team is 3-3-2 in that stretch with the only regulation victory coming at Detroit.

For what it's worth, 10 of the Jackets' 16 losses have been by one goal.  With an overtime and a shootout victory in the last two performances, the Jackets may just be turning things around.

Columbus has now won two straight and has a four-game point streak.  The team will look to keep the momentum they've built on Thursday night as they host the Vancouver Canucks (11-6-5) at 7:00 PM ET.