In Columbus, the visiting Arizona Coyotes scored two goals in each period on Tuesday night and upended the Blue Jackets, 6-3.
Shayne Gostisbehere hot for a double in the Coyotes win.
Connor Ingram made 31 saves for the Arizona win in their final game of a six-game road trip to open the season.
“That’s a long road trip and to find a way to win at the end is huge,” Ingram said.
The Coyotes built a 5-0 lead through the early minutes of the third period before the Blue Jackets mustered some offense.
Johnny Gaudreau, Kent Johnson and Andrew Peeke were the Columbus strikers, all of the goals coming in the third period.
“One good game. One bad game. We can’t do that all year,” Gaudreau said. “We came out flat-footed and they came out and took the lead on us and we never got it back.”
Gostisbehere and Zack Kassian scored in the first period for a 2-0 lead to the Coyotes.
“We capitalized on our chances, and then we played well defensively,” Arizona coach Andre Tourigny said. “Even if they had a shot, we kept them to the outside pretty good in the first two periods and if you looked at the quality scoring chances, we were ahead there too. It was not the volume of shots for us. It was the quality. The guys did a good job of burying them at the right time.”
Gostisbehere scored his second of the game in the middle frame for a 3-0 lead, and Dylan Guenther potted a goal for a 4-0 advantage headed to the third period.
“One of our big focuses was just winning the first 10 minutes,” Ingram said. “Scoring the first one makes a lot easier. It’s a little easier to play that way than chasing the game. You play a little safer. You don’t have to take risks.”
Arizona poured it on in at 2:10 of the third when Jack McBain made it 5-0.
“We weren’t good enough. There’s not much to say,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “It’s a shame. It’s disappointing because we’re coming off a big effort there in New York. You win three of four and you feel like you’re kind of going the right direction and then a let-up like this. It can’t happen. This came out of nowhere.”
Lawson Crouse added a late empty-net goal for the 6-3 final.
Daniil Tarasov got the start for the Jackets but was pulled after Arizona potted their fourth goal in the second period. He made eight saves.
Elvis Merzlikins saved five of six shots in a mop up role.
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