Arizona 4, Columbus 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Referees:
Justin St. Pierre, Greg Kimmerly
Linesmen:
David Brisebois, Trent Knorr
Attendance:
14108
By SportsDirect Inc.
Coyotes 4, Blue Jackets 1: All-Star defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and captain Shane Doan scored power-play goals 2:47 apart early in the second period and visiting Arizona went on to post its third win in four games.
Lucas Lessio and Tobias Rieder also tallied for the Coyotes, who completed a 3-3-2 road trip. Blue-liner Keith Yandle and Antoine Vermette each notched a pair of assists and Mike Smith made 30 saves as Arizona snapped its five-game losing streak at Columbus.
Defenseman James Wisniewski netted the lone goal for the Blue Jackets, who suffered their third straight loss. Anton Forsberg turned aside 25 shots in his third career start as Columbus was held to fewer than three goals for the fourth time in five contests.
Arizona recorded the only goal of the opening period as Lessio tapped in a loose puck at the right post after Forsberg denied B.J. Crombeen from the left side of the crease at the eight-minute mark. The Blue Jackets used the power play to get even just 40 seconds into the middle session, when Wisniewski beat Smith with a one-timer from the blue line.
The Coyotes quickly regained control, scoring two man-advantage goals less than 5 1/2 minutes into the session. Ekman-Larsson snapped the tie with a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle at 2:32 and Doan backhanded the rebound of Yandle's shot between Forsberg's pads from the bottom of the slot at 5:19 to make it 3-1.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ekman-Larsson matched his career high set last season with his 15th goal, which is tops among NHL defensemen. The 23-year-old Swede also leads all blue-liners with nine power-play tallies. ... Coyotes C Brendan Shinnimin notched an assist on Lessio's goal for his first point in six NHL games. ... Columbus had killed off all 16 of its penalties over its previous 15 periods before yielding the two power-play goals in the middle session. ... Arizona was outshot 12-2 in the third period, registering its first at the 12:02 mark before Rieder recorded the second with an empty-net goal at 17:49.
Top Game Performances
Arizona |
|
Columbus |
Antoine Vermette 2 |
Points |
James Wisniewski 1 |
Shane Doan 1 |
Goals |
James Wisniewski 1 |
Antoine Vermette 2 |
Assists |
Scott Hartnell 1 |
Shane Doan 1 |
Power Play Goals |
James Wisniewski 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Mike Smith .968 |
Save Percentage |
Anton Forsberg .893 |
Mike Smith 30 |
Saves |
Anton Forsberg 25 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Arizona
|
29 |
4 |
2-3 |
2-3 |
11 |
36 |
Columbus
|
31 |
1 |
1-3 |
1-3 |
11 |
42 |
Upcoming Games
-
Columbus will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .545 after a win and .333 after a loss.
-
Arizona will play their next game at home against Carolina. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .389 after a win and .364 after a loss.