COLUMBUS, Ohio – The puck was dropped and the Jackets shot out of the gates like a thoroughbred in the Kentucky Derby. There were many firsts in this game. William 
Karlsson, the Swedish center scored his first goal of the season at 1:39 of the first period, being assisted by Scott Hartnell and David Savard. Karlsson was acquired by the Jackets in March when they traded defenseman James Wisniewski to the Anaheim Ducks. He had three goals in the last 37 previous games.
At 5:13 the Jackets scored again with Ryan Johannsen power play goal, jumping on a pinging shot off the post. This was his second goal of the year ending a thirteen game goalless drought. He was assisted by Boone Jenner and Jack Johnson. The Coyotes would strike back at 12:09 with a 2 on 1 rush when Anthony Duclair lit the lamp, being assisted by Tobias Rieder and Martin Hanzal.
The Jackets seemed to be sleep skating most of the second period. Arizona kept on attacking the goal like their namesake on a scared rabbit. The Coyotes would tie the game in the second period with a goal by defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson off the rebound. He was assisted by Jordan Martinook and Anthony Duclair.  Boone Jenner would put the Jackets ahead, 3-2, on a power play goal assisted by Ryan Johansen and Jack Johnson.
The Jackets were shot awake with a goal Karlsson making it 4-2 at 10:42 in the third period. This was his second of the night.
“My first two goals of the season, I’m just relieved,” Karlsson said. “We wanted this one so badly. Now we know we can win here. The curse is gone.”
Brandon Saad would ice the game by putting the puck in the net at 15:18, with assists by Boone Jenner and Sergei Bobrovsky.
Sergei Bobrovsky had a great night with 27 saves and his first win at home. Because of his efforts, the Jackets went 5-5 on the penalty kill.
Coach John Tortorella was pleased with the way his team played. I think you need to win games differently,” Tortorella said. “Bob certainly gave us a chance while we were flat. In the third period, we were much better. It’s the way we want to play: physical, simple, and I think we got back to that (in the third period). I’m really happy that we gathered ourselves and found a way to win.”
Team Captain Nick Foligno was also happy with tonight’s game.
“We wanted to make this a different outcome.” said Foligno. “A lot of guys, in different roles, stepped up tonight to help us get the job done, and that’s what we need. You hate learning from those experiences because you want to win, but you can see that we’re growing and we weren’t going to make the same mistake twice.”
This was a win the Jackets needed. They were 6-12-0 with no wins at home. There were the unexpected goals by Karlsson and some other players stepping up. This seemed like a different team tonight than in previous nights. When a team collectively plays with a purpose such as tonight the outcome is evident. The Jackets won because they played like they wanted to win.
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