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When you have one of the most dynamic players in the NHL, you never want to see him leave the ice.
That's how it was for Artemi Panarin, who capped an extended shift in overtime with the winning goal at 2:11 to give the Blue Jackets a 3-2 victory against the Detroit Red Wings in the season opener for both teams at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Thursday.
Panarin's only shift of OT lasted 1:23, long enough for him to collect a pass from Nick Foligno, who was coming on after a line change and had a shift of "only" 21 seconds, and snapped a shot from the right circle to give the Blue Jacket their seventh straight win over the Red Wings.
"He doesn't seem to get tired, so we might as well keep him out there the whole five minutes," Cam Atkinson said of his linemate Panarin. "That's what he does, he's a game-changer. That's the Bread Man."
For Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella, Panarin's shift was high-risk, high-reward.
"In situations like that when you're in your offensive zone it's risky because if you don't make something happen offensively and you shoot the puck wide, he has no juice getting back," he said. "It is what it is. I'm not going to get in his way. I'll allow him to figure that stuff out because he's a game-breaker. I need to respect that and stay out of his way."
Joonas Korpisalo, a surprise starter for many, was a strong finisher with 18 saves for the Blue Jackets.
After making three saves in the third period, he equaled that amount in overtime, including outstanding stops of a tip by Danny DeKeyser and a wrist shot on an odd-man rush from the stick of Gustav Nyquist in the opening 48 seconds.
"Korpi obviously doesn't get too much credit around here but a great game by him and a huge save on that 2-on-1 in overtime to give us an opportunity," center Brandon Dubinsky said.
Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky will start the Blue Jackets' home opener vs. the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday at Nationwide Arena (7 p.m., Fox Sports Ohio, Fox Sports app, 97.1 The Fan).

CBJ@DET: Panarin fires home OT winner

Atkinson and Josh Anderson gave the Blue Jackets the lead, but Dennis Cholowski and Tyler Bertuzzi got equalizers each time to tie the score 2-2 through two periods and neither team could break the deadlock in the third.
Dylan Larkin and Nyquist each had two assists for the Red Wings, who played five rookies. Jimmy Howard stopped 36 shots for Detroit.
Columbus took a 1-0 lead at 5:12 of the first period on their initial power play of the season when Atkinson was at the right dot to one-time a pass from below the line by Pierre-Luc Dubois. Panarin had the secondary assist.

CBJ@DET: Atkinson opens scoring with PPG

Cholowski, a defenseman, scored in his NHL debut to tie the score 1-1 at 7:46 of the second, taking advantage of a turnover in the right corner by Dean Kukan. Larkin got the puck and spotted Cholowski in the slot.
Anderson put the Blue Jackets ahead again at 13:06 coming out of the penalty box. Anthony Duclair in his Blue Jackets' debut earned the second assist by flying down the right wing and throwing the puck to the net where Dubinsky got the first whack and Anderson the follow.

CBJ@DET: Anderson sneaks one past Howard

Duclair signed a free-agent contract on July 4 after playing last season with the Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks.
"It was a good net drive by Duc, then he pulled up and tried to find Dubi and I was in the slot and tried to put it in," Anderson said.
It took just over three minutes for the Red Wings to capitalize on the power play when Bertuzzi knocked in a centering pass by Larkin at 16:13 to make it 2-2.
The Blue Jackets' 16-3 shot advantage in the third could have been for naught if it wasn't for a defensive gem by Foligno with under two minutes left.
Thomas Vanek, who had seven goals in his final 15 games with Columbus last season, had a clear lane from the high slot but Foligno went down for the block.
"That's huge," Korpisalo said. "You see guys diving in front of the puck, it makes you feel like you want to win the game for the guys. You just don't want to let them down."

Korpi on making big plays down the stretch

NUMBERS
The Blue Jackets are 8-8-2 in season openers. This is the sixth time they've opened on the road and first since 2014-15. The Blue Jackets are 4-2-0 in road season openers with four straight wins, three coming after regulation. … In addition to seven straight wins vs. the Red Wings, the Blue Jackets are 17-3-2 in the last 22 games against them and have points in seven straight games in Detroit (6-0-1). … The past six games in the series have been decided by one goal (four after regulation).

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