COLUMBUS http://www.officialoilers.com/authentic-adidas-connor-mcdavid-jersey , Ohio (AP) — Trailing Montreal by two points in the standings, the Columbus Blue Jackets desperately needed a win over the Canadiens to keep their playoff hopes alive. A disappointing start turned into a decisive victory that got them back on the right side of the Eastern Division wild-card line.The Blue Jackets spent the first 10 minutes of the game out of sorts and trying to get a single shot off. The goals started coming in the second period, and Columbus cruised to a 6-2 win over Montreal on Thursday night.The Blue Jackets, winners of three straight, moved into a tie with the Canadiens for the second Eastern Division wild card, and they hold the tie-breaker, so will hold onto that spot for now. Carolina, which lost to Washington on Thursday Milan Lucic Jersey Kids , is one point ahead in the first slot.“We’re just trying to keep our foot on the gas,” Columbus coach John Tortorella said.Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice and Sergei Bobrovsky had 28 saves for Columbus. David Savard, Artemi Panarin, Riley Nash and Brandon Dubinsky also scored.Brett Kulak had a goal and an assist, and Jeff Petry also scored for Montreal, which was 4-0-1 in the last five before the Columbus trip. Carey Price finished with 24 saves.“It ain’t over,” Petry said. “As much as this one hurts, we know we still have a chance.”Columbus struggled to clear the puck from its defensive zone early in the game Oscar Klefbom Jersey , let alone get a decent shot attempt. Meanwhile, Kulak snapped in a shot from the point 1:15 in, the first goal against Bobrovsky in three games.Savard tied the game early in the second with a one-timer from the high slot past Price’s glove. Montreal went up while the teams were playing 4-on-4 at 8:36 in the second with a shot from the doorstep by Petry that was initially stopped but trickled past the line off Bobrovsky.Bjorkstrand’s redirection of a shot by Seth Jones knotted the game again. Columbus went ahead to stay 5:36 into the second when Panarin scored on a one-timer from the left circle off a splendid cross-ice pass from Matt Duchene.“We just had a little bit of a slow start, and they came out flying more than we did,” said Bjorkstrand, who has scored in three straight games and four of his last five. “The positive thing is we found a way to bounce back. I think halfway through the (first) period we started taking it up, and I think the second period we really took a big step.”Nash got his first goal in 49 games early in the third period when he got a breakaway and put back his own rebound. Bjorkstrand got his second goal of the night when Dean Kukan got loose with the puck and fed him in front of the Montreal net. Dubinsky added an empty-netter with 3:11 left.“We hung in there, but they got better and the game went on and we didn’t http://www.officialoilers.com/authentic-adidas-ryan-nugent-hopkins-jersey ,” Montreal coach Claude Julien said. “That’s pretty much the story of tonight. A lot of mistakes.”NOTES: Montreal F Paul Byron didn’t make the trip after suffering an upper-body injury in a fight with Florida’s MacKenzie Weegar on Tuesday. Nicolas Deslauriers took Byron’s spot in the lineup. … Montreal F Andrew Shaw played his 500th NHL game, and F Max Domi played in his 300th. … Columbus D Andrew McQuaid went out after a monster hit from Shaw in the second period and did not return.UP NEXTMontreal: Saturday at Winnipeg.Columbus: Saturday at Nashville. SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A home game against a tired team is just the kind of opportunity the San Jose Sharks can’t afford to squander if they want to catch first-place Calgary.After two mostly lackluster periods against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Sharks turned it on in the third and closed in on the Flames in the Pacific Division race.Joe Thornton set up Marcus Sorensen for a tiebreaking goal early in the third period and Melker Karlsson tacked on two insurance goals that sent the Sharks to a 5-2 victory over the Blackhawks on Sunday night.“That’s a big win for us,” coach Peter DeBoer said. “We’re trying to close the gap on Calgary and we’re at home and we’ve been good at home all year. Our challenge is to win the games that we’re supposed to win at home. I actually thought we didn’t have as much energy. … We found a way.”Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier also scored to help the Sharks end an eight-game stretch of alternating wins and losses. San Jose moved within three points of Calgary for first in the division, although the Flames have a game in hand.Martin Jones made 28 saves for the Sharks and helped keep Patrick Kane off the score sheet. Kane failed to record a point in back-to-back games for just the second time this season, also doing it Nov. 21-23.Dylan Strome and Erik Gustafsson scored for the Blackhawks, who lost on back-to-back days and now trail Western Conference wild-card leaders Dallas and Minnesota by eight points. Cam Ward made 29 saves.“I think we are still in this thing Ryan Strome Jersey ,” Strome said.” We could win seven in a row pretty quickly. … No one wouldn’t believe we could do it. We have to string a couple of games in a row. We deserved better tonight, but they are a great team over there.”The game was tied heading into the third when the Sharks took control. Thornton capped a strong shift by threading a perfect pass to Sorensen in the slot. Sorensen then beat Ward with a quick shot for his third goal in the past two games.Just a few minutes later, Micheal Haley drew a delayed penalty and then set up Brent Burns, whose big shot deflected off Karlsson and into the net for a 4-2 lead.Karlsson added an empty-netter to seal the win.The Sharks won for the second straight game without injured Erik Karlsson and Evander Kane as they got strong contributions from several role players, including the fourth line that created numerous chances throughout before breaking through with Melker Karlsson’s two goals in the third.“This team has got world-class players,” Haley said. “You’re very fortunate when you can lose some world-class players and still have some success. But I think along with that is we’re just a good team. Everybody wants to play for each other.”The Blackhawks juggled their lines coming into the game with the most noteworthy changes being Chris Kunitz moving up to play on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane and defensive pair Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook getting split up, with Keith playing with Gustafsson and Seabrook with Gustav Forsling.It took more than eight minutes for Chicago to generate a shot on goal with the new lines and the Sharks struck first when Hertl took advantage of a line change to deke Keith and score his 29th of the season.The Blackhawks then took over late in the period and got the equalizer after Kevin Labanc turned the puck over in the neutral zone, leading to a two-on-one rush the other way. Strome decided to shoot instead of pass to Alex DeBrincat and beat Jones with 27.1 second to play in the first.The teams then traded goals again in the second period with Meier redirecting a shot from Tim Heed to put the Sharks up 2-1. Gustafsson answered with a shot from the high slot off a pass from Toews.NOTES: Blackhawks F Drake Caggiula remains sidelined by a concussion suffered Wednesday at Anaheim. … Thornton played his 1 Womens Wayne Gretzky Jersey ,550th career game, tying Alex Delvecchio for 14th on the all-time list.UP NEXT:Chicago: Host Buffalo on Thursday.San Jose: Host Montreal on Thursday.