Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - Antoine Vermette scored with 2:22 left in overtime, and the Columbus Blue Jackets continued their push for the playoffs with a 4-3 win over the struggling Chicago Blackhawks.
R.J. Umberger, Derek Dorsett and Rick Nash scored in regulation for Columbus, which has won five of six to solidify its sixth-place standing in the Western Conference, only three points behind fifth-place Vancouver. Steve Mason made 24 saves to earn the victory.
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane each had a goal and an assist, while Dave Bolland also scored for Chicago, which has dropped four in a row and six of seven but moved a point ahead of the Canucks for fourth place in the West. Cristobal Huet allowed four goals on 28 shots to take the loss.
Working in a 2-on-2 rush, Umberger skated up on the right side and sent a saucer pass to Vermette, who was able to sneak the puck through Huet's legs to give the Blue Jackets the victory.
Bolland put the Blackhawks on the board a minute into the game on a wrister from in close, but Umberger evened up the score 2 1/2 minutes later for Columbus.
Later in the period, the puck caromed off the boards behind the net to Dorsett right in front of the crease, and he was able to hammer it home at 11:09 for a 2-1 Columbus advantage.
With 2:12 still to go in the first, Kane tied the game up on a snap shot for his 24th goal of the season. Chicago went back in front during a second period power play, as Toews took a cross-ice feed from Cam Barker and punched it in from the crease area at 9:50.
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Nash, though, made it 3-3 with a nifty shot from a side angle that went over Huet's shoulder at 10:48.
Neither team could net the game-winner in the latter half of the second or the third, and the game needed overtime.
