National Hockey League
Columbus 5, Arizona 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 14, 2015
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Referees: Mike Leggo, T.J. Luxmore
Linesmen: Scott Cherrey, Darren Gibbs
Attendance: 13702

COLUMBUS, Ohio - It took seven games and more than a month, but the Columbus Blue Jackets finally won a game in Nationwide Arena.

Center William Karlsson had his first two-goal game as a member of the Blue Jackets and his first two goals of the season, sparking the Blue Jackets to a 5-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night.

The Blue Jackets, who lost their first six home games, became the last NHL club to win at home this season.

"It's two in a row, it's a back-to-back, it's a home win," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "A number of different things happened where maybe a couple of weeks ago ...

"It hangs over your head when you don't win at home. Not winning a home game, and you're into November? That's tough. I'm happy for them and I can tell they're relieved."

Left winger Boone Jenner, left winger Brandon Saad and center Ryan Johansen also scored for the Blue Jackets, who improved to 6-5-0 under Tortorella. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky had 27 saves.

"It's a monkey off the back," Karlsson said. "Maybe two monkeys - one for the team, winning at home, and for me, just scoring some goals."

Rookie left winger Anthony Duclair and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored for the Coyotes, who rallied from an early 2-0 deficit before faltering late.

The Coyotes, who opened a four-game road trip, had won three straight.

"We had a bad change on the first (Columbus) goal and a bad turnover led to a goal on the second one," Arizona coach Dave Tippett said. "We got ourselves back in the game, but we didn't push enough in the third period."

Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith allowed two goals on his first three shots but finished with 16 saves.

Karlsson scored his first goal of the season only 1:39 into the game, finishing off a three-on-two rush thanks to a nifty cross-zone pass from left winger Scott Hartnell.

The Blue Jackets pushed the lead to 2-0 at 5:13 of the first when Johansen scored a power-play goal off a rebound. For Johansen, it snapped a 13-game skid without a goal.

The Coyotes pushed back in a big way, pretty much controlling the game well into the second period.

Duclair finished a two-on-one rush at 12:09 of the first period for his seventh goal of the season.

The Coyotes pulled to 2-2 at 5:49 of the second when Ekman-Larsson pinched in deep and was rewarded with a loose puck on the doorstep.

The Blue Jackets were ignited when the game took a physical turn late in the second period.

A line brawl was nearly sparked at 15:32 of the second when Blue Jackets left winger Jared Boll jabbed at Smith's glove after a save.

The fracas appeared to awaken the Blue Jackets. Only 52 seconds later, Jenner gave Columbus a 3-2 lead with a redirection of a Johansen shot from the left circle.

Later in the period, Hartnell had a spirited shift with Arizona left winger John Scott, ending with a sparring match in front of the Columbus bench after whistle.

Coyotes captain Shane Doan even lost his cool, getting tagged with a 10-minute misconduct and a game misconduct after a spat with Jenner.

"I have to respect (the officials') authority, and it's his prerogative," Doan said. "But I don't know what it was for, and I don't think Jenner did, either.

"In 20 years (in the NHL) I haven't seen that, but it's his call."

The Blue Jackets capped the scoring with two goals in the third period.

Karlson made it 4-2 at 10:42 when he scored off his own rebound, and Saad capped a two-on-one rush with Johansen by scoring from the left circle at 15:18.

"We were just holding on in the second, and that (physical stuff) really helped us," Tortorella said. "You could feel it on the bench. It gave us a lift. Good job by our fourth line tonight."

NOTES: Blue Jackets C Brandon Dubinsky will miss two to three weeks with an elbow injury, the club announced. Dubinsky suffered the injury on Friday after the morning skate and before a game in Pittsburgh. The club has declined to say how Dubinsky was injured. ... The son of two prominent NHL fighters from the 1980s and '90s played for the respective teams last night. Coyotes C Max Domi, son of Tie Domi, leads the Coyotes with eight goals. ... Blue Jackets LW Kerby Rychel, son of Warren Rychel, was recalled from Lake Erie of the American Hockey League on Saturday.
Top Game Performances
 
Arizona   Columbus
Anthony Duclair 2 Points Boone Jenner 3
Anthony Duclair 1 Goals William Karlsson 2
Anthony Duclair 1 Assists Boone Jenner 2
N/A Power Play Goals Boone Jenner 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Mike Smith .762 Save Percentage Sergei Bobrovsky .931
Mike Smith 16 Saves Sergei Bobrovsky 27
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Arizona 29 2 0-5 2-4 38 37
Columbus 21 5 2-4 5-5 30 29
Upcoming Games
  • Columbus will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .250 after a loss.
  • Arizona will play their next game on the road against NY Islanders. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .500 after a loss.