Blue Jackets 5, Coyotes 2
Scheduled to face the Coyotes in two consecutive games, the Blue Jackets set the standard on Saturday night as they cruised to a 5-2 victory in Phoenix.
Outshot 32-26, Columbus relied heavily upon Steve Mason who made 30 saves in the contest.
Scoring opened at 16:21 of the first period when Rick Nash picked up a shorthanded tally for his 23rd goal of the campaign.
Nearly five minutes into the second frame, Nash scored again to make it 2-0.
Trailing by two goals on home ice, the Coyotes’ frustration turned into fisticuffs. At 6:57 of the second period, Colton Gillies and Chris Summers dropped the gloves. The fight shifted the momentum of the game, allowing Phoenix to close the gap.
With the score tied at 2-2 heading into the third period, Columbus appeared to be losing grip on a game it had been dominating.
Around the midway point of the final frame, the Blue Jackets’ Nikita Nikitin scored to stop the Coyotes comeback. Leading 3-2, Columbus grabbed an insurance tally at 13:44 of the period when Derick Brassard notched his 12th goal of the season.
Gillies added an empty-netter in the waning moments of the contest to ice the victory.
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