FINAL: Blue Jackets 2, Blackhawks 1

The Blue Jackets extended their point streak to seven games with a 2-1 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night in the United Center.
Game in a Paragraph
A tired Columbus team built a 2-0 lead early in the second period but the Blackhawks had a solid frame and pulled one back to make it a one-goal game going to the third. Columbus played a good defensive period in the third, though, and held on until the end to move to 4-0-3 in the last seven games.

Quote of the Game
CBJ head coach John Tortorella: "Korpi is our best player tonight. We've played a lot of hockey, first back-to-back traveling. We weren't as sharp as we'd like to be, but Korpisalo was clearly our best player."
CBJ Standouts

Quick Recap
A sleepy first period -- shots on goal after 20 minutes were 4-3 in favor of Chicago -- did have one goal in it, and it belonged to the Blue Jackets as Columbus scored on the power play at 8:53 to make it 1-0. The Blackhawks got caught trying to clear the puck at the line but Zach Werenski kept it in, feeding Cam Atkinson to give the Jackets a 4-on-2 advantage down low, and Atkinson fed Bjorkstrand in the left circle for a one-timer past Kevin Lankinen.
Carl Soderberg had Chicago's best chance to tie the score a couple minutes later when he snuck in behind the defense on a feed from Puis Suter, but Korpisalo got the right pad down and made the stop as Soderberg tried to sneak the puck between the goalie's legs.
The second period was a different affair with more offense - 19 shots on goal for Chicago, 12 for the CBJ - and just 3:39 into the period, Columbus doubled its lead to 2-0 with Robinson's goal. Bjorkstrand spied the speedster flying the zone and fed him in stride, with Robinson beating Patrick Kane up the ice before ripping a shot over Lankinen's glove from the left circle.
Korpisalo faced a lot more traffic and rubber in the second period than the first and was sharp throughout, but he did get beat once on a power-play goal by Dylan Strome. Kane drew plenty of attention in the left circle, allowing Strome to cut to the net and take a pass from Kane that he put over Korpisalo's left shoulder at 10:47.
Kane hit the post early in the third looking for the tying goal, moments before Robinson's bid for his second on the night in transition was squeezed by Lankinen. The Finnish goalie also made back-to-back stops on Bjorkstrand and Nick Foligno right on the doorstep near the midway point to keep it a one-goal game.
Down the stretch, Kane twice had good looks on Korpisalo on the same shift but could not convert, with the CBJ goalie stopping his deflection at the netfront before using his blocker to make a save when Kane got open in front a few seconds later. Columbus was able to hold on from there to earn its second win in as many nights.
3 Takeaways
1. Korpisolid: We'll lead off with what Tortorella did, the impressive play of Korpisalo, who has a .936 save percentage on the year after allowing just one goal on 32 shots for the Blackhawks. It was a sleepy first period for the Finnish netminder, who played against one of his best friends in Lankinen, but things started to come fast and furious in the final 40 minutes. Korpisalo made 27 saves in those final two frames, many from close range as the Blackhawks took advantage of Columbus' tired legs as the night went on. The goalie, meanwhile, was rested after having the night off as part of the team's goalie rotation Thursday. "I felt good not playing yesterday and having fresh legs and a fresh mind for today," Korpisalo said. A simpler way to put it: "Korpi played amazing," Bjorkstrand said.
2. Tired legs: This game just felt like it would be a tough one from an energy standpoint, as Columbus was playing its third game in four nights and had to travel from Columbus to the Second City after Thursday night's shootout win over Florida. Add in the fact the previous two games required full overtimes and the Blue Jackets had played plenty of hockey in a short time span going into this one. Tortorella admitted the Jackets were a bit gassed, but it probably helped to play with the lead and not having to chase the game. "I think we seemed a little tired tonight, but at the end of the day we found a way to win," Bjorkstrand said. "I thought there was still good parts of the game. We probably have to get the legs going a little bit more, but we found a way and that's huge."
3. E-Rob's energy: Robinson has certainly been a noticable player throughout much of the season for the Blue Jackets, and he got his second goal of the year -- and first non-empty netter -- in the second period for what would go down as the game winner. The Princeton product's speed has never been doubted, but his offensive game has depended on whether his hands would catch up with his feet. But he certainly has the ability to rip a shot every once in a while and showed it again when he blew his goal past the glove hand of Lankinen. "It's a relief," Robinson said. "If you're getting chances and they're not going in, it can be frustrating, so it was good to see one go in tonight." Tortorella has been impressed with his body of work this year. "He's dangerous," the head coach said. "Like I talk about (Alexandre Texier), Tex makes mistakes. Robby makes mistakes. I really want him to concentrate on some things on the wall where I think he's made some mistakes, but he keeps on showing up and making a difference in backing teams off."
Notable
Tortorella coached his 400th game behind the CBJ bench tonight. His 213 wins with the team are the most in franchise history. ... The Blue Jackets have scored power-play goals in consecutive games and finished 1-for-2 on the man advantage. ... Atkinson has points in four of the last five games. … Columbus improved to 3-8-2 in its last 13 games in the United Center. ... Lankinen made 25 saves. ... Kane now has a 19-37-56 line in 47 career games against the Blue Jackets. ... Ten of Chicago's 23 goals on the year are power-play goals. … The game is the only scheduled contest on a Friday this year for the Blue Jackets.
Roster Report
The Blue Jackets made no changes to the skater lineup, with Korpisalo going in net for Elvis Merzlikins.
Up Next
Columbus stays in the Windy City and will take on the Blackhawks again Sunday evening at 7 p.m.