Only for Guild Members » That’s the way I look at it

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Cam Atkinson and the Columbus Blue Jackets have picked a perfect time to get on a roll.Atkinson scored a hat trick to lead the surging Blue Jackets to their sixth straight victory Adidas J.T. Brown Jersey , 5-3 over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.Oliver Bjorkstand and Boone Jenner also scored for the Blue Jackets, who tied Philadelphia for third place in the Metropolitan Division.”We’re playing our best hockey right now and this is when you want to be playing your best hockey,” Atkinson said.After setting career highs in goals (35) and points (62) last season, Atkinson has struggled through much of an injury-plagued 2017-18 campaign. But he is heating up at just the right moment and has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his last 10 games.”Confidence is the biggest thing,” Atkinson said after upping his season totals to 16 goals and 33 points in 55 games.Claude Giroux, Andrew MacDonald and Shayne Gostisbehere scored for the slumping Flyers, who dropped their seventh in the last eight games.”We just need to put it behind us and somehow get our confidence back,” Giroux said.Philadelphia and Columbus are one point ahead of New Jersey Adidas Adam Pelech Jersey , which holds an Eastern Conference wild-card spot.If the playoffs began on Friday, the Flyers would finish third in the division based on tiebreakers while the Blue Jackets would get the first wild card. Both teams have 11 games remaining.Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves, including some big stops early in the third period. He denied Nolan Patrick from close range with a good glove save 1 1/2 minutes into the period and used his pad to stop Sean Couturier a minute later.Bobrovsky’s play has been solid during the winning streak, and Columbus has averaged 4.3 goals over its last six games.”I’m not going to overthink it,” coach John Tortorella said. ”The biggest thing is we’ve concentrated on each and every day and tried to play simple and straight-ahead hockey. We’ve scored a few more goals, (Bobrovsky) has been outstanding and we have found a way to win some games.”Atkinson scored into an empty net with 0.8 seconds remaining for this third goal.Most of the scoring happened in the first two periods.Gostisbehere scored just 14 seconds into the second on a power play when his wrist shot from the right circle went under Bobrovsky’s right arm to pull Philadelphia to 3-2.Atkinson responded with his second of the game, a slap shot from a sharp angle on a 2-on-1 break that would turn out to be the game-winner, to put the Blue Jackets back up by two goals with 16:37 left in the second. That was the last straw for Flyers coach Dave Hakstol, who pulled Petr Mrazek after the goalie allowed four goals on 10 shots. He was replaced by Alex Lyon.”He didn’t give up a bad goal tonight Adidas Thomas Hickey Jersey , but you look for a timely save and that’s what we didn’t get,” Hakstol said.MacDonald drew Philadelphia to 4-3 with 7:37 left in the second when his slap shot from the slot went off both posts and in.There were offensive fireworks in the first period, too.Columbus produced the first goal with 10:19 left when Bjorkstand scored a highlight-reel goal from his right knee. Seth Jones‘ initial shot was blocked by Jori Lehtera, and Bjorkstand gathered the puck as he was falling down and fired it past Mrazek’s glove side.The Blue Jackets went up 2-0 just 11 seconds later when Jenner scored on a deflection.Giroux’s one-timer from the left circle made it 2-1 with 8:26 left in the period, but Columbus quickly pushed it back to a two-goal advantage when Atkinson deflected Zach Werenski’s shot from the point past Mrazek.The Flyers had two good chances on a power play in the closing minutes of the period, but Bobrovsky extended his left pad to stone Jakub Voracek and then snared Gostisbehere’s slap shot from the point.NOTES: Flyers G Brian Elliott practiced in full pads with goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh at the morning skate. Elliott had core muscle surgery on Feb. 13 and was expected to miss five to six weeks. … Columbus LW Matt Calvert returned to the lineup after sitting out Wednesday’s 5-2 win over Montreal. … The teams ended the regular-season series with two wins apiece. … Giroux received stiches to his upper lip after taking a puck to the face with 14 minutes left in the second period.UP NEXTBlue Jackets: Host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.Flyers: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.— TAMPA, Fla. — Just two games in to the season, Stanley Cup favorite Tampa Bay is already under scrutiny as the Lightning head into Saturday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.The Lightning, who have endured an odd schedule to start the season Adidas Tom Kuhnhackl Jersey , picked up two points in the opening two games but were underwhelming in both performances — a shootout victory over Florida and a late loss to the Vancouver Canucks.Tampa Bay was the highest scoring team in the league last season, but has scored just two goals in two games to start this season while going 0 of 8 on the power play.Article continues below ...“We need to finish. We’re not finishing,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We are shooting some pucks at the net, but we’re not going there with a desire to score. That’s what you have to do in this league, especially with the goaltending and the way it is.“These are NHL goalies. You have to go in there and get dirty ones. They are not all pretty. We’re probably resorting a little bit to trying to get the pretty goal.”But captain Steven Stamkos said it’s too early to start worrying about Tampa Bay’s ability to score goals.“We led the league in goals last year, so it’s just a matter of time,” he said. “That’s the least of our worries is scoring. That is going to come. It’s not cheating because it’s not coming; it’s playing the right way and continuing to improve. “The power play has to find a way to start producing … we have to work hard as a power play if we want to be difference-makers out there.”Columbus is getting contributions from its difference-makers, most notably Artemi Panarin, who had a goal and three points in a comeback victory at Florida on Thursday.Defenseman Zach Werenski had a goal and two points Adidas Matt Martin Jersey , and Cam Atkinson notched the game-winner late in the third period as the Blue Jackets have won consecutive games despite missing All-Star defenseman Seth Jones and center Brandon Dubinsky to injury.“We gathered ourselves and had an opportunity to win the hockey game,” Atkinson told NHL.com. “We got it done. We’re taking the right steps in the right direction. It might not be our prettiest, but we find a way to get it done.”‘But there are areas that coach John Tortorella would like to see cleaned up going forward so his players don’t have to rely on strong third period showings to collect points.“I talked to (the media) after the last game. We win in the third period and we win in the third period again, which is encouraging,” Tortorella told the Columbus Dispatch. “There (are) some great teaching opportunities for us here, as we found a way to win (Thursday’s) game. That’s the way I look at it.”