Anaheim, CA – Fedor Tyutin scored 2:19 into overtime as the Columbus Blue Jackets picked up an important two points with a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
In the extra session, Nick Foligno danced along the left wing to get clear of a defender before chipping the puck down low for Tyutin, who got a stick on it for his fourth of the year.
The win has Columbus sitting in the eighth spot in the Western Conference with 49 points, two clear of Detroit as the Red Wings lost to Calgary in regulation on Wednesday. Detroit does have a game in hand, though.
"We are extremely committed," said Foligno. "That's all we talk about. We want to make the playoffs and we want to win the Stanley Cup. That's our goal from day one and this is a committed group."
Matt Calvert and Blake Comeau also scored while Sergei Bobrovsky posted 26 saves for the Blue Jackets, who have won five in a row.
David Steckel and Sami Vatanen each scored for the Ducks, who have dropped their past three. Viktor Fasth made 24 stops in the loss.
"Of course it's not fun to lose the game," said Vatanen. "Every loss is a tough one for us, but these guys have played a pretty good season. They're in a good spot right now, so we've just got to find a way to end this losing streak and focus on the next game."
Anaheim has 60 points and sits firmly in first place in the Pacific Division and second place in the Western Conference.
The Ducks scored the only goal of the first period and it came at the 11:37 mark on the power play when Vatanen's wrist shot from the left circle beat Bobrovsky for his first NHL goal.
The Jackets tied the game with 3:22 to play in the second period as James Wisniewski picked off a wraparound at the right boards and passed it to the front where Comeau redirected it into the net.
At 4:53 of the third, Anaheim went ahead thanks to a lucky bounce. Sheldon Souray threw a shot on net from the left point that went wide, but it came back to the stick of Kyle Palmieri. He then chipped it back to Steckel, whose shot popped into the air and floated above and behind Bobrovsky for his first of the season.
Columbus, though, knotted the game just shy of the midway point as Brandon Dubinsky's wraparound from the left side stopped, but the puck came out front and Calvert snapped it home.
Game Notes
Columbus' last three games have gone to either overtime or a shootout ... Anaheim plays the next four games on the road starting in Calgary on Friday ... Columbus plays in Los Angeles on Thursday ... Columbus took two of three from Anaheim this season ... The Ducks were 1-for-3 on the power play while the Blue Jackets went 0-for-3.
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