COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Over their 13 seasons, the Columbus Blue Jackets have wilted at the finish a lot of times. Steve Bartkowski . They did again on Tuesday night, giving up a tying goal in the waning seconds of regulation. But they more than made up for it later. Ryan Johansen took a stretch pass from James Wisniewski and scored on a wrist shot at 3:33 of overtime to lead the Blue Jackets to a 4-3 win over the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday night, tying a franchise record for wins. "It could have been one of those oh-no moments," Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said of the Coyotes Oliver Ekman-Larssons tying goal with just 14.6 seconds left in regulation. "But credit to the guys. We went out and found a way to win." When Johansen, a 21-year-old, notched his 32nd goal, a roaring crowd of 16,289 was so loud it was deafening. "I was sitting on the bench just admiring it," Johansen said with a grin. "It was loud. It was pretty cool to watch. Its great we could finish it out for them and make them even happier." Not only did Johansens goal provide the Blue Jackets 41st victory to match their most, but it also pushed them even closer to a spot in the playoffs. They retain the second wild-card spot in the East and moved just two points back of third-place Philadelphia in the Metropolitan Division. "It was huge for us," said Blake Comeau, who had given the Blue Jackets a 3-2 lead with just over 6 minutes left. "Everyone knew how important these points are this time of year. We could let off the gas and gotten down on ourselves after that late goal. But the guys did a great job of rallying." The Blue Jackets improved to 41-31-7, matching the victory total set in 2008-09 -- the only time the club has made the playoffs. Sergei Bobrovsky had 29 saves, Boone Jenner and Mark Letestu also had goals and Artem Anisimov added two assists for Columbus, which heads out on the road to close the regular season. "We go on this three-game road trip now feeling a little better about our game and ourselves," Johansen said. The Blue Jackets had taken a 3-2 lead with 6:18 left when Comeau pulled up on a rush and snapped off a shot from the top of the left circle that got past goalie Thomas Greiss. "I just tried to fire it on net, to be honest, as hard as I could," Comeau said. With the crowd cheering every play down the stretch, the Coyotes silenced them by tying it. Ekman-Larsson circled at the point and ripped a shot that flew through heavy congestion in front to get past a surprised Bobrovsky. "(Mike Ribeiro) got it up to me and I just walked the line and tried to shoot the puck and I was lucky it went in," Ekman-Larsson said after his 15th of the season. After a Phoenix turnover, Wisniewski sent a long pass to Johansen who raced in from the left wing with one defender back and tucked a hard wrist shot inside the far post against Greiss, who had 26 saves. "It was a roller-coaster," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "Our effort was really strong. Our execution, well, it was a choppy game. A team would turn over the puck and the other team would score and get the advantage." Martin Erat and Shane Doan also had goals for the Coyotes, who have lost five in a row (0-2-3). They came in with 86 points, just a point back of Dallas which holds the second wild-card spot in the West. "It was a nice shot by their guy," Doan said. "This is a tough place to play. Bobrovsky is a great goalie. They have some great young players who go to the net hard and they play hard. We wanted to find ways to get to the net and we did. We just needed to make one more play." In the end, Columbus got the puck onto the stick of the right guy. "We got one of our most talented players in a position to make a play," Richards said. "And he made the play." Notes: After the game, Columbus left for a game at Dallas on Wednesday for the resumption of a suspended game from last month, then will play back-to-back games at Tampa Bay and Florida on Friday and Saturday. ... Nathan Horton played one shift in the second period for the Blue Jackets after missing four games and then left with an apparent recurrence of a lower-body injury. ... Phoenix RW Radim Vrbata assisted on Erats goal to reach 50 points in a season for the third time (07-08, 11-12). ... Erat has 17 goals and 42 assists in 62 career games against Columbus. Sam Baker . -- Milos Raonic and Aleksandra Wozniak continued successful injury comebacks as each advanced into the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open on Monday to next face reigning Grand Slam champions. Levine Toilolo . PETERSBURG, Fla.SURREY, B.C. -- B.C. Lions starting quarterback Travis Lulays recovery from off-season shoulder surgery appears to be on schedule as he takes part in the teams mini-camp. But with off-season signing Steven Jyles absent and his future in question, the Lions are lacking a bona fide backup with CFL experience. Lulay limited the number of throws while only making short passes in drills Tuesday, the second day of a three-day mini-camp for offensive players at the teams Surrey, B.C., training complex. But he was hopeful of being ready for main training camp in June. "Its getting better," said Lulay. "Its been a good couple days to come out and throw the ball around. Obviously, Im still limited, Im still progressing to getting back to where I need to be. But its been a really good measuring stick for this stage of the game." Lulay underwent surgery to repair a damaged labrum suffered in a collision while scoring a touchdown in September. He missed six regular-season games but was able to play in the Western semifinal loss to the Calgary Stampeders. "Im being cognizant of my numbers," he said. "Im just not over-throwing because the biggest thing is, with a shoulder, its such a delicate joint. Over-doing it is one of the worst things you can do. "So Im just understanding that its a progression and just taking steps up the ladder each week. This (camp) is just another part of that. The mobility, the range, is great. Its just continuing to get that end range (i.e. long-pass) and that strength back." General manager Wally Buono said medical reports indicate that Lulay will be ready for the main training camp in Kamloops, B.C., and the quarterback has gone "way beyond the call of duty" in his recovery efforts. "The camp was held at this time for a specific reason," said Buono. " (Part) of it was to make sure Travis could go out and do all the things that hes been doing. Right now, it looks very promising." Jyles, who has seven years of CFL experience but did not play last season because his services were not in demand, was conspicuous by his absence after agreeing to terms with the Lions in April. "Im fine with it," said Buono. "As I intimated before, we were going to bring five quarterbacks to this camp, and one of the things we were going to do was evaluate which quarterback we probably wouldnt invite to the main camp. So this, right now, is just helping our decision." Jyles absence left the Lions with four QBs in the mini-camp. With new offensive co-ordinator Khari Jones beginning to implement his system, this is an important time for quarterback hopefuls to start learning the revised playbook and executing plays in advance of the clubs main June training camp. However, the camp is voluntary for those invited. Jyles, who has three young children, is working in the Dallas area. "I respect the fact that he put his family first," said Buono. "Obviously, (deciding whether to pursue an unguaranteed spot with the Lions) is not an easy decision and, at this point,, he felt it was just best not to leave his job. Steven Jackson. " Since beginning his CFL career in 2006, Jyles has had two stints with Edmonton and also played for Saskatchewan, Winnipeg and Toronto. With Jyles absent, second-year Lion Chris Hart is the only other quarterback at the camp with CFL experience. NFL veteran John Beck, 32, and Jarrett Lee, who was drafted in 2012 by the San Diego Chargers but did not play in the NFL, are also signed and taking part in the mini-camp. Hart spent most of last season as the clubs fourth quarterback, but feels he has "improved a lot" since he took part in an offensive mini-camp a year ago. "I dont want to say anything (on the backup job)," he said. "I let the coaches do their job and pick who they need to pick. Im just battling for the job and Im going to compete. Im going to work hard like Im No. 1." "Obviously, this is a good test for him, too, because we spent a year with him," said Buono. "Hopefully, hes a lot more comfortable. Hopefully, even though the system is new, the verbiage is easier for him." Beck, a second-round selection of the Miami Dolphins in the 2007, is looking to secure regular employment with the Lions after taking a winding path to B.C. In addition to the Dolphins, he played six seasons with Baltimore, Washington and Houston. The Brigham Young University grad has started seven NFL regular-season games and thrown for 1,417 yards and three touchdowns on 140 completions. Beck spent last season out of football. But instead of pursuing a different career, he spent his time honing his skills while enjoying extra time with his wife and their three sons and hoping for a team to call. "Ive gotta be honest," he said. "Id never really anticipated that my journey would take me to Canada. My journey started in the NFL. I thought thered be some really good opportunities in it for me, and my journey started off in the situation you dont want have it start off on. Go to (Miami) the worst team in the NFL and have everybody get fired. It cant get much worse than that. "But Im very excited that my journey has taken me here. Thats the fun part about it. Im excited for the opportunity thats here." Lee spent five years at Louisiana State, a perennial powerhouse, where he completed 317-of-565 attempts for 3.949 yards and 32 touchdowns. New offensive co-ordinator Jones believes that Lulay is "on track" to being ready to start the season and is not perturbed by Jyles absence. "My job is to coach the guys that are out here," said Jones. "If he shows up, then he shows up." Notes: The Lions were forced to find a new backup after former backup Thomas DeMarco was claimed by Ottawa in the CFL expansion draft, veteran Buck Pierce retired to become an assistant coach with Winnipeg, and Joey Elliott was released after two stints with B.C. last season. a Veteran offensive guard Patrick Kabongo, entering the option year of his contract, is not attending the camp as he works outside of football in Edmonton. ' ' '
