Winning Play: Foligno creates breakaway lane

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY SportsEverybody remembers the finish on a successful breakaway, but getting open is sometimes half the battle.

Case in point: Nick Foligno’s Thursday night dagger, which gave the Columbus Blue Jackets a 3-1 lead over the San Jose Sharks to close the middle frame.

To start, this was an off-target D-to-D pass from Erik Karlsson (65) to Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44). Vlasic had no chance and Columbus pounced on the unforced error.

Foligno (71) certainly noticed. “It was just a bad pass. You have to sometimes jump in the holes offensively.”

To Foligno’s credit, he helped create the opening. Notice how the left-hander turns, then moves to the left to put himself in an optimal…