Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Ryan Johansen scored the lone goal of the shootout to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
Johansen, Columbus' third shooter, slowly skated in, patiently waited for Cam Ward to move first and slid the puck past the netminder's pad to put the Blue Jackets ahead. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped Jeff Skinner's attempt to seal the outcome.
Scott Hartnell scored twice, Rene Bourque also lit the lamp and Bobrovsky made 29 saves for the Blue Jackets, who entered the game 1-7-1 over their last nine games.
"Our power play was big," Columbus head coach Todd Richards said. "We found a way to win this hockey game.
Special teams played an important part in the game as the Blue Jackets finished 3-for-5 on the power play, while the Hurricanes went 2-for-4.
Justin Faulk provided a goal and two assists -- all in the first period -- and Eric Staal and Victor Rask each scored for the Hurricanes, who received 29 stops from Ward.
"They built a game on the road and competed harder," Carolina head coach Bill Peters said.
On the power play, Hartnell tied the game at 3-3 with his second of the night as he took a slick backhand pass from Artem Anisimov in front sent a shot over a sprawled Ward for a 6:10 into the third.
In overtime, Staal took a loose puck and broke in on a breakaway, but was denied by Bobrovsky.
The Hurricanes wasted no time getting on the board. Faulk's snap shot from the right circle opened the scoring 36 seconds into the game.
Rask made it 2-0 after he moved up to the right circle and one-timed Faulk's feed past Bobrovsky with 7:13 left in the first for a power-play goal.
Columbus countered with a power-play tally of its own. Cam Atkinson deked past a Carolina defender and wristed a shot from the left circle which was deflected by Bourque in front with 1:55 left in the opening stanza.
After Marko Dano went off for tripping, Staal restored Carolina's two-goal lead by tipping Ryan Murphy's blast from the right side with 10 seconds left in the first period.
Just 2:21 into the second, the Blue Jackets struck again while on the man advantage as Hartnell tapped home the rebound of Kevin Connauton's shot from the top of the left circle for a 3-2 game.
Game Notes
Connauton returned to the lineup after missing six games with a lower-body injury ... Faulk is the second defenseman in franchise history to tally three points or more in the first period. Brad Shaw had three assists for the Hartford Whalers against the Quebec Nordiques on March 21, 1990 ... Columbus forward Nick Foligno was a late scratch due to an illness ... Anisimov finished with two assists ... The two teams will conclude their season series in Columbus on Monday.
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