Hockey's weird, eh?
For the longest time, nothing happened in this game.
Literally. Nothing.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| COYOTES | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Two periods and 40 minutes elapsed in Glendale with relative ease. Antti Raanta and Sergei Bobrovsky were making saves (Bobrovsky more busy than Raanta), both teams exchanged miniature spurts of action. But this was fittingly a scoreless game entering the third period.
And then, things happened.
Zach Werenski put a one-timer on a tee for Seth Jones, and he ripped a heavy shot through traffic that glanced off Alexander Wennberg and behind Raanta. The Blue Jackets had a 1-0 lead despite not playing their best, and even got a power play goal in the process.
The lead, however, didn't last long.
A few minutes later, the Coyotes evened the game on a power play goal of their own. The Coyotes broke down the Jackets' penalty kill with a point shot, and the puck squirted to the far side where Brendan Perlini banged in a rebound at 7:39.
Nervy moments, they were. But then the Blue Jackets got a big goal from a guy they need to score big goals.
Wennberg, who played a strong game, worked himself free on the left wall and hit Atkinson with a pinpoint pass at the net-front, beating Raanta from in close with three-plus minutes to play in regulation. Welcome back, Atkinson, who admitted he needed a couple periods to get the lungs and legs going – but that's exactly what they need from him down the stretch.
It was the game-winning goal for Columbus (27-18-3), which got a huge road win to pull into a tie for second place in the Metropolitan Division at the All-Star break.
Injury Update
Cam Atkinson made his return to the lineup after missing 11 games with a foot injury. Ryan Murray will receive treatment for an upper-body injury over the All-Star break, according to FOX Sports Ohio.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets return to Columbus after the break to face the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, Jan. 30.
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