For the Blue Jackets, Tuesday's 2-0 win over the New Jersey Devils wasn't just a repeat of opponents, it was a repeat of an excellent performance by Sergei Bobrovsky who earned his third consecutive shutout; he has now gone four games in regulation without allowing a goal.
John Tortorella has been talking about these kinds of games for a while. The number of games left to play dwindles, defenses dig in and tighten up, and goals are harder and harder to come by.
Early on, the Jackets (42-17-6) didn't help their cause offensively tonight. They were outshot by the Devils 33-25, and allowed 16 in the first period alone.
But Oliver Bjorkstrand, who has been sound in all areas of the ice since joining the club from Cleveland, added his fourth goal of the season to secure the victory. Cam Atkinson notched an empty net score to earn his 30th goal this year, a new career high for the 27-year-old Jacket.
"I'm really happy with the team," Tortorella said. "As ugly as we were, that's seven games in 11 nights after a break, in a situation where, with the break teams usually play some clunkers. That's as close as we've come to a clunker since the break and we found a way in the third period to generate enough energy and find a win. It's really encouraging as far as how they handled themselves".
Labatt Blue What We Learned: CBJ 2, NJD 0
Bobrovsky gets third straight shutout in Jackets' victory over the Devils
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