Arizona 6, Columbus 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 3, 2015
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Referees:
Kevin Pollock, Ghislain Hebert
Linesmen:
Brian Murphy, Darren Gibbs
Attendance:
13159
By SportsDirect Inc.
Coyotes 6, Blue Jackets 3: Sam Gagner recorded two power-play goals and an assist while Martin Hanzal netted one tally and set up three others as Arizona extended its home winning streak to four games.
Tobias Rieder, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Kyle Chipchura each registered a goal and an assist for the Coyotes, who kicked off their six-game homestand by earning a point in their fifth straight contest (4-0-1) at Gila River Arena. Blue-liner Keith Yandle notched two assists and Mike Smith turned aside 23 shots as Arizona went 3-for-4 with the man advantage.
Defensemen Fedor Tyutin and James Wisniewski scored 2:04 apart in the second period and Ryan Johansen added a late tally for the Blue Jackets, who were blitzed in their first game in January after matching the franchise mark for wins in a month by recording 10 in December. Sergei Bobrovsky allowed all six goals on 31 shots before being replaced by Curtis McElhinney, who stopped all three shots he faced as Columbus had its four-game road winning streak snapped.
Arizona scored the lone goal of the first period as Lauri Korpikoski's shot from the left faceoff circle went wide and caromed off the end boards to Rieder, who backhanded it in at the right post with 6:43 left. Tyutin ignited a five-goal outburst in the second period at 2:35 with a one-timer from the top of the left circle and Wisniewski gave Columbus the lead just over two minutes later, converting a cross-slot pass from Brandon Dubinsky during a power play.
Ekman-Larsson forged a tie less than two minutes afterward as he charged to the net to knock in a loose puck in the crease while on the man advantage and Gagner put the Coyotes in front with 1:27 remaining in the session with a shot from the right side of the crease. Hanzal tallied 44 seconds later to make it 4-2 before Chipchura and Gagner scored 86 seconds apart early in the third to chase Bobrovsky and cap Arizona's string of five consecutive goals.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Coyotes C Joe Vitale returned from a lower-body injury, but D Chris Summers remained out with an upper-body ailment. ... Arizona lost D David Schlemko, who was claimed off waivers by Dallas on Saturday. ... Ekman-Larsson is tied for the league lead among defensemen with 10 goals and tops all NHL blue-liners with seven power-play tallies. ... Gagner's two-goal performance was his second of the season, with both coming over his last five games. ... Johansen extended his point streak to six games with his second goal in as many contests, a blast from above the slot with one minute remaining in the third period.
Top Game Performances
Columbus |
|
Arizona |
Ryan Johansen 1 |
Points |
Martin Hanzal 4 |
Ryan Johansen 1 |
Goals |
Sam Gagner 2 |
Sean Collins 1 |
Assists |
Martin Hanzal 3 |
James Wisniewski 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Sam Gagner 2 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Curtis McElhinney 1.000 |
Save Percentage |
Mike Smith .885 |
Sergei Bobrovsky 25 |
Saves |
Mike Smith 23 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Columbus
|
26 |
3 |
1-3 |
1-4 |
23 |
27 |
Arizona
|
34 |
6 |
3-4 |
2-3 |
11 |
37 |
Upcoming Games
-
Arizona will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .375 after a loss.
-
Columbus will play their next game on the road against Colorado. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .588 after a win and .316 after a loss.