Blue Jackets move closer to top of Metropolitan

COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Blue Jackets moved into a tie for second place in the Metropolitan Division with a 1-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.
The Blue Jackets (48-18-7) are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and are three points behind the Washington Capitals for first place in the division and NHL. The Capitals defeated the Arizona Coyotes 4-1 on Saturday.
The Flyers (34-32-8) are eight points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with eight games remaining.

WATCH: All Flyers vs. Blue Jackets highlights
Sergei Bobrovsky made 36 saves for Columbus in his seventh shutout of the season. He is 8-0-1 with four shutouts in his past nine games and leads the NHL with 40 wins.
"He's just locked in," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "There's not a lot of extra room. He's confident. He's prepared himself."
Bobrovsky got his 19th shutout with the Blue Jackets, tying him with Flyers goalie Steve Mason for most in Columbus history.
"I don't think about those statistic points," Bobrovsky said. "For me, it's very important to win each game. It's important for me to focus on that."

Michal Neuvirth made 20 saves for Philadelphia in his first start in the past eight games.
Alex Wennberg scored his 13th goal at 13:11 of the second period. Kyle Quincey's shot from the right circle was redirected by Wennberg.
The Flyers outshot the Blue Jackets 21-8 the remainder of the game.
"We had a really good effort all the way through," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "There weren't very many areas where we had holes. We competed extremely hard, executed pretty well."
Columbus avoided its first three-game losing streak of the season after a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday and a 2-1 shootout loss to the Capitals on Thursday.
"We know we're working toward playing a better game, but to hold onto a 1-0 lead and squeak one out is great sign," Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno.

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Goal of the game

Wennberg got a stick on the waist-high shot by Quincey.
"It wasn't the hardest shot but it did its job," Quincey said.

Save of the game

Bobrovsky made a chest save on a rising shot by Jakub Voracek off the rush with eight seconds left in the second period. The puck fluttered and fell to ice before Bobrovsky covered it.

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Unsung performance of the game

The Blue Jackets fourth line of William Karlsson, Luke Sedlak and Matt Calvert was their best, Tortorella said. Karlsson and Calvert each played 2:07 shorthanded to help kill the Flyers' three power plays.

Highlight of the game

The Flyers had an extra attacker for the final 1:07 and Bobrovsky made a save on Brayden Schenn with two seconds left.

They said it

"That was a good team effort. The only thing we could have done a better job is in front of their net. Other than that, we put a lot of pucks on net. A few times there were scrambles in front of their net. When you're facing the hottest goalie in the League you've got to be in his face. I thought we could do a better job." -- Flyers goaltender Michal Neuvirth
"We can't rely on [Bobrovsky] all the time. He's that good so we win 1-0 but we're going to need to play better." -- Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky
"He played well. He got lucky too. A couple of times he didn't know where the puck was. We have to find a way to get those rebounds. He's the best goalie in the League. It takes extra effort." -- Flyers forward Jakub Voracek on Sergei Bobrovsky

Need to know

The Blue Jackets are 13-3-0 against the Flyers, including 3-0-0 this season, since a 9-2 loss on Nov. 5, 2011. Columbus had no shots during two power plays and has scored 11 goals in its past 90 tries. … The Flyers are 3-6-0 in their past nine games. Philadelphia is 0-5-5 in Nationwide Arena since Dec. 13, 2005, their longest active road losing streak against an opponent.

What's next

Flyers: At the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets:Host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday (7 p.m., FS-O, MSG-B, NHL.TV)