In the second night of a back-to-back, Columbus (19-10-1) took care of business against one of the NHL's worst teams, holding off Arizona (7-20-5) by a 1-0 score in Nationwide Arena on Saturday night.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COYOTES | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
IN A PARAGRAPH
With Cam Atkinson out as a healthy scratch, the Blue Jackets got on the board early with a Josh Anderson goal just 30 seconds into the game. That was it, as neither team got on the board again and Sergei Bobrovsky posted his fourth shutout of the season in front of 17,785.
NOTABLES
- Bobrovsky stopped 35 shots for the Blue Jackets in earning his 16th victory of the season.
- Anderson's goal gave him 11 tallies on the year, and he added a total of seven shots on goal.
- Jack Johnson and David Savard each topped 23 minutes of action, including 4:24 each of shorthanded time.
STAT ATTACK
Bobrovsky had allowed at least three goals in three straight starts before earning the shutout win. ... Arizona outshot Columbus 35-34. ... The Coyotes were 0 for 4 on the power play while the Jackets were 0 for 2. ... Brandon Dubinsky went 16-7 in the faceoff circle. ... Columbus improved to 11-5-0 in Nationwide Arena, 13-3-1 when scoring first and 10-1-1 in one-goal games. ... Anderson's goal was the team's earlier in a game this season. ... The Jackets are 3-0 vs. Arizona the past two seasons. ... It was just the ninth time this season in 30 games the Jackets were outshot.
WHAT HAPPENED
The Jackets wasted little time getting on the board, with Anderson's goal coming on the first shift of the game and continuing a strong run of play by the team's top line. On the heels of earning a team-record-tying five helpers on Friday night, Artemi Panarin again picked up the first assist, playing the puck along the wall to Anderson behind the net. From there, the big power forward skated out to the right of the net, found some space and ripped a shot to the far corner from a bad angle past goalie Antti Raanta.
It was an explosive start, but things soon settled down as the teams couldn't find much offense. Arizona's best chance came in the second period as Brendan Perlini got in behind the defense after a nice move to get by Lukas Sedlak, but Bobrovsky was equal to the challenge and denied the five-hole shot.
Columbus held the 1-0 lead through the third period, but things got dicey late when Panarin took a pair of minor penalties with 2:53 to play, meaning the Jackets would have to shepherd the game home on the penalty kill.
Hearts were in throats in Nationwide as Clayton Keller rang the crossbar early in the Arizona power play, but that was as close as the Coyotes would come to tying the game. Savard and Matt Calvert each blocked shots in the closing seconds as Columbus closed out its second consecutive win.
ROSTER REPORT
Atkinson was a healthy scratch for the first time since 2015. He was replaced in the lineup by Sonny Milano, who was recalled from AHL Cleveland before the game and returned afterward. ... Tyler Motte and Gabriel Carlsson also were scratched.
NEXT UP
The Blue Jackets continue a three-game homestand with the middle game, a Tuesday night tilt vs. Edmonton at 7 p.m.
