COLUMBUS, Ohio _ The injuries keep happening, but the Blue Jackets keep proving they still have enough talent to win games and crank out points they desperately need.
It doesn't hurt playing some of the NHL's worst teams or facing a goalie making his first NHL start _ like the New Jersey Devils' Gilles Senn did Saturday night at Nationwide Arena _ but those aren't the only reasons Columbus is on a season-long four-game winning streak amid a spate of injuries.
The Jackets are also working hard, getting excellent goaltending from Joonas Korpisalo and putting the puck in the net more _ including two goals from Oliver Bjorkstrand in a 5-1 victory against the Devils.
"You can't control it," said Bjorkstrand, who left in the third period with an undisclosed injury. "If you're hurt, you're hurt. So, when somebody's hurt, you can't think about, 'Oh, we really need him.' You've just got to step up."
Bjorkstrand spoke those words after practice Friday. Now, depending on what his injury is, somebody may have to replace him. And those will be tough skates to fill.
Bjorkstrand's two-goal performance was his sixth career multiple-goal game, second of the season and second in the past three games. He has also scored six goals in the past seven games, including five in the past four _ a hot spell the Jackets needed with other lineup regulars going down left and right.
Bjorkstrand's goals, both scored in the first period, were his 11th and 12th of the season, including the first just 26 seconds into the game. His second, scored at 8:06, gave the Blue Jackets (16-14-6) an early 2-0 lead that turned out to be enough.
"I just think he's played a better overall game," coach John Tortorella said. "He doesn't get stopped that often when he goes along the boards with the puck. Two years ago, he gets stopped. The puck seems to go in for him, but that's a talented shooter that we have there."
Will Butcher scored for the Devils at 15:28 of the first, cutting it to 2-1, but Columbus scored the next three _ going up 3-1 on a goal by defenseman Vladislav Gavirkov at 13:13 of the second and adding short-handed goal by Zach Werenski and an empty-netter by Gustav Nyquist late in the third to seal it.
