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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In a rivalry that is quickly heating up, the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Friday at Nationwide Arena in an overtime battle among foes adjacent to each other in the Eastern Conference. Brandon Dubinsky netted the game winner 1:04 into the extra period.
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"It feels really good, especially against these guys in a packed building" said Dubinsky. "It's always tough against these guys."
"I'm happy for Dubinsky," said Columbus head coach John Tortorella. "He works so hard all the time. He finds a way to will himself into big things."
Prior to the Metropolitan Division clash, Tortorella observed, "As you get to the last quarter of the season, you like to see your team where everybody is contributing."
Such was the case when Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray scored only his second goal of the season early in the second period.
Murray grabbed a sliding puck near off the top of the faceoff circles sent from the goal line by William Karlsson, skated to open space, and flipped a back hand shot into the Penguins net.
"I think (Murray) has been more aggressive with his decision making and hopefully that will help his game," said Tortorella.
"You saw Murray being an aggressive and he puts it in the back of the net," added Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones.
Pittsburgh (36-13-8) rallied back just over four minutes later when Ian Cole netted his fourth goal of the season after an assist from Evgeni Malkin.
"It was a game of momentum," said Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan. "I thought they had it in the second period and I thought we had it in the third."
Malkin won a faceoff in the offensive zone back to Cole, who fired a harmless looking wrist shot that fluttered past Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who was screened.
"It was a tight game. It was a back-to-back and the second game and we played pretty good," said Malkin.
"We lose (a faceoff) and it ends up in the net," Tortorella said. "You see what happens when you lose a faceoff; it deflated us a little bit."
The home crowd believed the Blue Jackets (37-15-5) earned a 2-1 advantage 7:48 into the second frame, but the Oliver Bjorkstrand goal was waved off as the whistle had blown after the Penguins touched the puck on a delayed penalty on defenseman Steve Oleksy.
"The winner could have been Bjorkstrand's," Dubinsky said. "I think he got robbed there a little bit, but stuff happens in this game quick."
The teams matched net-front scrums and shots on goal through the first 10 minutes and goaltenders Bobrovsky and Matt Murray matched saves on point-blank shots offered between the 13:00 and 14:23 mark.
Matt Murray's grab was off a Bjorkstrand offering from between the center of the ice hash marks while Bobrovsky stopped a pair of up close offerings from just outside the blue paint.
"It was a pretty even game, they're a good team and we're a good team. It was a hard-fought game," Sullivan said.
"It was the result we wanted," concluded Dubinsky.
NOTES: Columbus RW Oliver Bjorkstrand was called up earlier in the week from the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. He was in the lineup on Friday. ... The Penguins recalled D Cameron Gaunce and D Steve Oleksy from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. ... Pittsburgh D Olli Maatta is out of the lineup after having hand surgery. Maatta injured his left hand in Thursday night's victory against Winnipeg and is expected to be out of the lineup for six weeks. ... Penguins D Justin Schultz was also out of the lineup after sustaining a concussion on Thursday. ... Blue Jackets D Seth Jones has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in his last 12 games while C Brandon Dubinsky has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in the past 16 contests for Columbus. ... Pittsburgh's LW Conor Sheary and RW Bryan Rust were out injured. ... The Penguins scratched Schultz, Gaunce and RW Carter Rowney while the Blue Jackets scratched LW Scott Hartnell, D Dalton Prout and D Scott Harrington.
