Blue Jackets win 14th straight game

WINNIPEG-- Alex Wennberg scored twice, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves to help the Columbus Blue Jackets win their 14th straight game, 5-3 against the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre on Thursday.
The Blue Jackets tied the third-longest winning streak in NHL history (1929-30 Boston Bruins; 2009-10 Washington Capitals). The 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins hold the NHL record at 17 in a row.
"We're playing well right now and all four lines are rolling," Blue Jackets forward Brandon Saad said. "We're doing a good job of playing the full ice, good in the defensive zone, and then our power play has been huge for goals. We're definitely feeling good right now."

The Blue Jackets play at the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. The Wild won their 12th straight game, 6-4 against the New York Islanders, on Thursday. No NHL teams have ever played with each team on a winning streak of at least 11 games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
WATCH: All Blue Jackets vs. Jets highlights
Nick Foligno had a goal and two assists, and Saad and Lukas Sedlak scored for Columbus (25-5-4), which has a 16-game point streak (15-0-1).
Bobrovsky won his NHL-leading 23rd game of the season and his 12th game in as many starts.

"He's just such a calming presence back there because he can come up with the spectacular save but he can also make the hard ones look easy," Foligno said. "Sometimes it's deceiving for us because we think, 'Oh, we're not playing too bad,' but he had to make a pretty nice save for you to stay that way. But that's what [he] does."
Shawn Matthias, Bryan Little and Mathieu Perreault scored for Winnipeg (17-18-3). Michael Hutchinson allowed five goals on 35 shots, and the Jets failed to win a third straight game in seven opportunities this season.

"It's tough. It seems like we can't get that third one," Perreault said. "Now, to this point of the year, the focus is that you can't lose two in a row. We won two in a row and now we lost one. So we've got to get that next one for sure."
Matthias gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 2:36 of the first period, redirecting a point shot past Bobrovsky.
Saad tied the game 1-1 at 7:55 after Hutchinson's clearing attempt behind his net turned into a giveaway. Saad intercepted the puck and scored his 14th of the season. Foligno scored his 12th at 16:29 to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead.
Wennberg made it 3-1 at 8:21 of the second period as Foligno got tangled with Hutchinson in the crease. Winnipeg challenged the call but review confirmed a good goal, giving Wennberg his fifth point in four games.

Wennberg scored his second on the power play 45 seconds into the third period to make it 4-1.
"I just think they don't let up," Little said. "No matter what the situation is in the game, they're coming at you. It seems like they really capitalized on their opportunities and are good around the net."
After Little made it 4-2 with his sixth of the season at 6:29, Sedlak redirected a shot at 14:31 to make it 5-2 with his third. Perreault scored on the power play at 18:27 to make it 5-3.

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Goal of the game

Sedlak tipped Jack Johnson's point shot past Hutchinson to restore the Blue Jackets' two-goal lead in the third period.

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Save of the game

Bobrovsky stopped a shot from the point and then saved a point-blank shot from Perreault to keep it 2-1 in the second period.

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Highlight of the game

Bobrovsky sprawled across his crease to get his right pad on a deflected shot by Matthias on a 2-on-1.

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Unsung performance of the game

Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien had an assist, four blocked shots, six hits, and led Winnipeg in ice time at 28:09.

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They said it

"I thought we did a good job of getting back to our game plan, coming into a tough building to play in and playing a full 60 minutes." -- Blue Jackets forward Brandon Saad
"Well, we haven't folded yet, have we? We just won four of five. We've lost five in a row this year, so we're far from broken." -- Jets forward Blake Wheeler

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Need to know

Jets forward Marko Dano left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury after falling into the end boards. "We're talking about weeks, easily," coach Paul Maurice said. … Blue Jackets forward Sam Gagner has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in his past 11 games. … Foligno (31) and Saad (30) reached 30 points for the season. … Wheeler extended his point streak to six games with two assists (three goals, four assists). … The 1981-82 New York Islanders and the 2012-13 Pittsburgh Penguins each won 15 games in a row.

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What's next

Blue Jackets: At the Minnesota Wild on Saturday (6 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-O, NHL.TV)
Jets: Host the New York Islanders on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN, MSG+, NHL.TV)