Sergei Bobrovsky gets third straight shutout

COLUMBUS -- Sergei Bobrovsky made 33 saves for his third consecutive shutout, and the Columbus Blue Jackets scored twice in the third period for a 2-0 win against the New Jersey Devils at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.
"It's an achievement as a team and we're not done yet," Bobrovsky said. "I will enjoy it tonight and get ready for the next one."
Bobrovsky has six shutouts this season and 18 in his NHL career. He made 20 saves in a 3-0 win against the Devils on Sunday and defeated the Minnesota Wild 2-0 on Thursday.

WATCH: All Devils vs. Blue Jackets highlights
He has stopped 91 shots to tie the Blue Jackets' record of three straight shutouts set by Steve Mason from Dec. 27-31, 2008.
Prior to the streak, he lost 1-0 at the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 28 on a power-play goal in overtime.
Oliver Bjorkstrand and Cam Atkinson had the goals for Columbus (42-17-6), which has scored eight goals in the past five games but is 3-1-1.

Keith Kinkaid made 23 saves for the Devils (25-29-12), who are 0-6-2 in the past eight games. Kinkaid made his first start since losing 6-4 to the New York Islanders on Feb. 19.
"I was motivated to bounce back after that stinker," he said. "I thought we played a really good game today. Bobrovsky was the difference."
The Blue Jackets broke through at 9:39 of the third period when Bjorkstrand scored his fourth goal in 10 games since being recalled from Cleveland of the American Hockey League.
Atkinson scored his 30th goal into an empty net with 1:16 left.
The Blue Jackets have three consecutive home shutouts for the first time in their history and four shutouts in the past seven games.

Goal of the game

Sam Gagner was below the goal line when he passed to Bjorkstrand low in the right circle. Bjorkstrand went down to his right knee to take the shot that was rising as it went past Kinkaid, who was without his stick.
"You got to find an open spot on the ice and he'll make a good play," Bjorkstrand said. "He made a good one. I had just had to get it on net."

Save of the game

Bobrovsky used his head to make a save on Beau Bennett's shot during the Devils first power play, with 8:04 left in the second period. Bennett took a low-angle shot that knocked Bobrovsky's helmet off.

Unsung performance of the game

Blue Jackets forward TJ Tynan made his NHL debut and played 7:39 with one shot on goal while playing on a line with Lauri Korpikoski and William Karlsson. At 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds, Tynan was often in front of the net battling for the puck.

Highlight of the game

New Jersey had 16 shots in the first period to nine for Columbus. The difference was Bobrovsky. With 1:19 left in the period he stuck out his right pad to make a point-blank save on a rebound try by Stefan Noesen and the follow-up backhander by Beau Bennett. He also made a left-pad kick save on Kyle Palmieri in the slot with 31 seconds remaining.

They said it

"I'm really happy with the team. As ugly as we were, that's seven games in 11 nights after the break in a situation where teams with the break usually play some clunkers. That's as close as we've come to a clunker but we found a way in the third period to generate enough energy to find a way to win. It's really encouraging as far as the way they handled themselves." -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella
"It's not easy for us to buy [a goal] right now but I think you've got to like a lot of things we did today. I know it's disheartening not winning but the guys competed today and can leave the game knowing you left it out there. Saying that, we still have to improve." -- Devils center Travis Zajac

Need to know

New Jersey assigned defenseman Karl Stollery and forward Kevin Rooney to Albany of the American Hockey League. … Devils captain Andy Greene missed his third straight game following the death of his father. … Devils defenseman Ben Lovejoy played his 400th NHL game. … Former Blue Jackets defenseman Dalton Prout played his first game in Columbus since being traded for defenseman Kyle Quincey on March 1. Quincey was scheduled to be a healthy scratch after the morning skate but he replaced defenseman Ryan Murray in the lineup. Murray is out with a lower-body injury. … Gagner has two goals and two assists in the past three games.

What's next

Devils: At the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Friday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, MSG-B, NHL.TV)