from Shawn Mitchell of Puck-Rakers,

For all the little subplots, this was a big-picture game. It was critical, pre-break game against a divisional opponent. It put a thump in the standings.

The Jackets defeated the Flyers 5-2 in front of 15,571 at Nationwide Arena. With that, the Jackets (26-20-4) moved ahead of the Flyers (25-21-6) and into third place in the Metropolitan Division.

“We’re skating, we’re competing, we we’re blocking shots, we’re creating the offense off the forecheck,” said Blue Jackets center Artem Anisimov, who had an assist and was one of 10 Jackets with at least one point tonight.

“The power play is huge. We have a talented group here. But we execute our gameplan first. We play defense first, and the offense come after. The top teams in the NHL, everybody plays their system. You do that, you can win 2-1 or you can win 5-2. We do the little things better. The sticks are in the right positions. We shoot the puck at the right time. We make the little plays.”

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