COLUMBUS Rod Brind'Amour Jersey , Ohio (AP) Artemi Panarin turned out to be everything the Columbus Blue Jackets were looking for when they traded for him last summer: A dead-eye sniper and deft puck distributor who can get game-breaking goals and make everyone around him better.And, the Blue Jackets hope, a guy who can get them deeper into the playoffs.So far, so good. Columbus heads home to Nationwide Arena after taking a 2-0 lead over Washington in their first-round series on Sunday night, a come-from-behind 5-4 overtime win in which Panarin contributed a pair of key assists.That came three nights after Panarin won the series opener in overtime. With two assists already in regulation, he drove down the left side, slipped past Capitals defenseman Dimitry Orlov and snapped a shot over goalie Philipp Grubauer’s shoulder.”There’s very few people who can make that shot,” Washington coach Barry Trotz said.”He can make a play from nothing,” Orlov said. ”He’s so smooth.”The Blue Jackets probably wouldn’t be playing in the postseason without the 26-year-old Russian they call the ”Bread Man.” He was a steady presence and consistent scorer through a bumpy season of slumps and injuries to other key players.Panarin led Columbus with 27 goals and 55 assists, and his 82 points were the most in a single season in franchise history. His plus/minus of 23 and average of just over 20 minutes on the ice per game were career highs.Panarin – sounds like Panera Bread, hence the hockey nickname of ”Bread Man” or just ”Bread” – has embraced being a featured star after playing in the large shadow of Patrick Kane in Chicago in his first two years in the league.”In Chicago, I played with Kane and got a lot of assists from him,” Panarin said. ”But I always wanted something more, to put more of the game on myself and be more accountable for the result. Here, I got that, what I wanted.”Panarin, who won the Calder Trophy as the top rookie in the NHL in 2015-16, was acquired from the Black Hawks last June along with forward Tyler Motte for forward Brandon Saad and goalie Anton Forsberg. Saad was a reliable player for Columbus for two seasons.”Bread is a different type player because he can make a special play to win a game Womens Scott Darling Jersey ,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. ”I just think for you to get through and find your way and try to be a better playoff team, you have to have some players that are dynamic. You’re not coaching it, they just see something, they seize a moment and they win you a game. Or they make a huge play to get you back in the game in another way.”With the Blue Jackets on a power play and down 3-2 in the second period on Sunday, Panarin dribbled the puck and patiently waited for a lane to open up before delivering a pinpoint circle-to-circle pass to Cam Atkinson , who scored the tying goal.Panarin’s line mates, veteran winger Atkinson and 19-year-old rookie center Pierre-Luc Dubois, have benefited from his skills. Atkinson – who had two goals on Sunday – has come on strong after missing time with injuries, finishing the regular season with 14 goals and 14 assists in February and March. Dubois had 20 goals and 28 assists in the regular season, making him the most productive rookie in Blue Jackets history.Panarin makes $6 million a year on a contract that runs through next season. He’ll be due a sizeable salary bump if the Blue Jackets decide to keep him around after that.So far, he’s been an ideal fit.”When they first traded me, of course for a couple days, I worried,” he said. ”But then I calmed down and understood that this is all good for me. I understood that here I would progress as a player first and foremost. What’s most important to me isn’t money, but the whole game.”—Associated Press Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno in Washington contributed to this report.— OTTAWA — The timing is good for the Ottawa Senators to be facing a team that has traditionally given them trouble.The Pittsburgh Penguins (7-7-3) will be without captain Sidney Crosby and in a two-game slide that has left them last in the Eastern Conference when they provide the opposition Saturday night at Canadian Tire Centre.Crosby, who has 43 points in 38 career games against the Senators, is expected to miss a week with an upper-body injury. The Penguins are hopeful for the return of Derick Brassard, who has missed three weeks with a lower-body injury Youth Sebastian Aho Jersey , to help fill the void.Article continues below ...“One of the things that we talked about when we acquired Brass was this very scenario,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Friday. “To have a guy who’s as talented as he is, who has a track record of being a proven top-six center in this league, that’s encouraging from our standpoint.”Brassard, who will be a game-time decision, was acquired from the Senators in a three-team trade at last February’s deadline. It would be the first time he has faced the his former team since the deal.Born and raised just outside of Ottawa, Brassard had a goal and four assists in eight games before going down.“I liked the way I started the season,” Brassard told the Post-Gazette. “I felt like I had a stretch of time where I was producing offense, but nothing was going in. Now I have to start from scratch, go out there with an open mind, play free and have fun.”If history between the teams holds true, it will be an enjoyable evening for the Penguins. Ottawa has won just 36 of 100 regular-season games against Pittsburgh and was 0-3-0 against them in 2017-18.This season’s Senators (8-8-3) have played well on home ice, where they’ve posted a 6-3-2 record. They’ve also won two of their last three games, including a 2-1 decision over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday that saw goalie Craig Anderson make two penalty shot saves in the third period.Anderson, who has appeared in all but one game to date, will make the start on Saturday. Against the Penguins, he has a 5-10-3 career record.Anderson shared the spotlight in the victory over the Red Wings, as rookie Drake Batherson scored with his first shot in his first NHL game and impressive first-round pick Brady Tkachuk engaged in his first NHL fight. Tkachuk objected to liberties taken on Mark Stone by Red Wings winger Justin Abdelkader.With four goals and four assists in eight games Authentic Teuvo Teravainen Jersey , he continues shows traits that made his dad, Keith Tkachuk, such a dangerous weapon for 1,200 NHL games.“I just thought it was a high hit, especially on my landlord,” Tkachuk, who has been living at Stone’s house, told Postmedia on Friday. “So that’s me paying my rent.”Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot didn’t practice on Friday, but he is expected to be in the lineup against the Penguins. Chabot, who has 22 points in 19 games, had one of his best outings of the season against Detroit. His tidy defensive zone play included three blocked shots, while he also had six shots on the Detroit goal in his 27 minutes of ice time.“He wants it so bad, he wants to be so good in all phases of the game,” coach Guy Boucher told Postmedia. “I’m impressed. I’m really pleased with his development on both sides of the ice, and he has to deal with really good players. It’s not like we’re hiding him now.