Saturday, March 23, 2013
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Blue Jackets too much for Flames 5-1

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[March 23, 2013]  COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Nick Foligno scored twice in a club-record 51 seconds and the Columbus Blue Jackets scored three goals in a 1:15 span of the second period to beat the Calgary Flames 5-1 on Friday night, extending their franchise-record points streak to 12 games.

Artem Anisimov, Colton Gillies and Jared Boll also had goals and Sergei Bobrovsky continued his strong play with 24 saves as the Blue Jackets, last in the NHL on Feb. 24, ran their record to 8-0-4 in their hot streak.

R.J. Umberger and Derek MacKenzie each had two assists.

The two goals by Foligno and one by Anisimov in 75 seconds also were the fastest three goals by the Blue Jackets.

Curtis Glencross scored for the Flames, who have lost their past nine road games (0-8-1).

Bobrovsky, the third star in the NHL last week after being the first star the week before, was at his best in the second period when the Flames controlled the play for most of the way -- until the Blue Jackets broke loose.

Columbus was closing out a five-game homestand. After their strong run, the Blue Jackets now will be tested on the road. They play their next four on the road, starting at Nashville on Saturday, and will play 12 of their final 17 regular-season games away from home.

Calgary had dominated the first 13 minutes, setting the pace, keeping the puck in the offensive zone and forcing the Blue Jackets to play defensively.

Down 1-0, the Flames evened things when Glencross was the beneficiary of a nifty setup from Matt Stajan, who slipped the puck to him at the right doorstep for a jam shot.

Then, the Jackets got going on offense.

At the 13:05 mark, Foligno's seemingly innocent shot in traffic somehow slipped through two defenders and a teammate and slid through Miikka Kiprusoff's pads.

After celebrating, the same line stayed on the ice. Foligno dug the puck off the right wall to R.J. Umberger, who fed Foligno for a rising wrister from the high slot.

The two goals in 51 seconds were the fastest by a Blue Jacket, erasing the mark of 1:29 set by Umberger in 2009.

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Before those goals were even announced, Calgary's Lee Stempniak had an awful giveaway. He slid an attempted clearing pass directly to Anisimov, who unloaded with a one-timer from the rim of the right circle.

That made it three goals in 1:15, turning a 1-1 tie into a rout. Kiprusoff even had to fight off a couple more good scoring chances on an ensuing power play.

Anisimov's goal made it three scores in 11:15, easily eclipsing the club mark of 1:46, set in the franchise's first season in 2000.

The Blue Jackets got some energy from their fourth line, with Boll, Colton Gillies and Derek MacKenzie working hard to keep the puck deep in the offensive zone late in the first period. It paid off when MacKenzie fed Gilles for a shot from the right wing that went off defenseman T.J. Brodie's stick to Boll, who was all alone crashing the net. He scored his second of the season from the slot.

Gillies scored his first of the season in the third period after Jack Johnson stole the puck at the left short boards and then sent a pass to him in the high slot.

NOTES: The Blue Jackets are just 6-5-2 when scoring first, while the Flames are 2-9-3 after falling behind 1-0. ... Calgary was playing a quick back-to-back on the road before returning home to play St. Louis on Sunday. ... Scouts from Ottawa, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Vancouver, Chicago, San Jose, Toronto and Tampa Bay were in attendance. ... The Blue Jackets killed two penalties and have not allowed a 5-on-4 power-play goal since Feb. 18 at Anaheim.

[Associated Press; By RUSTY MILLER]

Follow Rusty Miller on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rustymillerap.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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