Columbus, OH – Artem Anisimov scored the winner in the shootout to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
Anisimov lifted a backhander off the crossbar on the first chance of the shootout and, after Sergei Bobrovsky made stops on Sam Gagner and Ales Hemsky, Mark Letestu buried the puck in the back of the net for the win.
Vinny Prospal posted a goal and an assist while Derek MacKenzie and Jack Johnson each scored for the Blue Jackets, who have won two in a row for the first time this season.
"I sense that our guys have a little more confidence," said Columbus head coach Todd Richards. "It's nice to see our guys get rewarded because they've been working real hard lately."
Steve Mason started in net for Columbus, but was yanked early in the second period after giving up three goals on eight shots. Bobrovsky stopped all 21 shots he faced in relief to get the win.
Jeff Petry, Ryan Whitney and Magnus Paajarvi all scored for the Oilers, who have dropped their past three. Devan Dubnyk gave up three goals on 38 shots in the loss.
"We played a much better game than we did in Minnesota," said Edmonton head coach Ralph Krueger. "There was a lot of good things but the result is disappointing. We let go of a couple of leads and that's upsetting."
Edmonton got on the board 4:23 in when Petry's shot from the right point floated into the net, but Columbus tied it at the 7:54 mark of the first as Jared Boll's pass from the right circle to the front of the net was tapped in by MacKenzie.
The Blue Jackets made it a 2-1 game on the power play when Prospal jammed in the puck from in front after a shot from Letestu at the 13:45 mark of the first, but the Oilers answered five minutes later when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins sent a backhand pass from the left point to the right circle where Whitney snapped home a wrister.
Just 31 seconds into the second period, Edmonton chased Mason from the net as Paajarvi swept it in from the left side off a pass from Gagner on the rush.
Just past the midway mark of the middle frame, the Jackets tied the game as Derick Brassard centered the puck from the right side of the net and Johnson one-timed it home.
After a scoreless third period, Bobrovsky helped to force a shootout by making a pair of beautiful stops on Jordan Eberle during an Edmonton power play in overtime.
Game Notes
Columbus hosts Vancouver on Thursday ... Edmonton plays the sixth game of a nine-game road trip in Detroit on Thursday ... Edmonton had won three straight against Columbus, including a 3-1 win on Feb. 10 ... The Blue Jackets were 1- for-4 on the power play while the Oilers went 0-for-3.
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