COLUMBUS, Ohio _ Oliver Bjorkstrand couldn't have dreamed of a better scoring opportunity than the one he received Monday night in the final minute of the second period.
In a normal season, and not one with a potentially historically awful team shooting percentage for the Blue Jackets, fans would have gasped instead of groaned when the point-blank wrist shot off a turnover in front of the net was saved by Washington Capitals goalie Brayden Holtby.
But hardly a minute of game time later, the Jackets generated another chance for Bjorkstrand even closer to the net. Off a faceoff win in the offensive zone, left wing Gustav Nyquist threw the puck from the left boards near the end line toward the crease, and Bjorkstrand redirected it past Holtby 32 seconds into the third period for a two-goal lead.
At 8:46, Bjorkstrand scored his second of the game and ninth of the season when he blazed past Jakub Vrana down the left-wing boards, moved to the middle and avoided Holtby's poke check in front of the net to beat his left pad.
The Jackets defeated the Capitals, who have the best record in the NHL, 3-0 at Nationwide Arena for just their second win in eight games, but their second against the Capitals in eight days.
After owning much of the offensive zone time in the first period, the Jackets were holding onto a one-goal lead by the slimmest of margins, giving the league's fifth-best power play more opportunities than they needed. All Joonas Korpisalo did was stand tall in the face of multiple slapshots from Alex Ovechkin.
If not for Korpisalo, Ovechkin might have had a hat trick by the end of the second period. He had nine shots, six of which came on the power play that were all parried by Korpisalo, who played another stellar game after back-to-back performances that earned a point for the Jackets.
He finished with his second shutout of the season and 30 saves. The Jackets had 21 shots, 14 of which were in the first period.
The line that propelled the Jackets to a point on the road Saturday at Ottawa with two third-period goals picked up where it left off with a goal in the first period that gave the Jackets their first lead in a week.
Forward Alexandre Texier beat his man down the right-wing boards and rifled a backhand pass to Eric Robinson at the top of the crease, who directed it into the bottom right corner of the net for his fourth goal of the season with 8:28 remaining in the period.
It's an understatement to say just how much the Jackets needed something positive heading toward the end of the calendar year. Just four days after coach John Tortorella said he was as embarrassed as he had ever felt for the organization after a shutout loss at Pittsburgh, the Jackets had another win that showed they can win against the top teams.
