Johnny Gaudreau scored the opening goal and added two assists as the Columbus Blue Jackets snapped a five-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
Boone Jenner contributed two goals for Columbus, which was coming off back-to-back losses to the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL Global Series at Tampere, Finland, last weekend.
Columbus’ Zach Werenski had a goal and an assist, and Nick Blankenburg also scored. Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo made 32 saves.
Ivan Provorov logged a goal and an assist, Tony DeAngelo had a goal and Carter Hart stopped 24 shots for Philadelphia, which had won its previous two games.
Gaudreau took a pass from Werenski on an entry into the offensive zone and beat Hart to the far side for his sixth goal of the season at 3:53 of the first period. It marked the first lead for Columbus in five games, dating back to a 5-1 road win over the New York Rangers on Oct. 23.
Gaudreau returned the favor eight minutes later, taking advantage of an Owen Tippett turnover in the neutral zone and finding Werenski between the circles. Werenski’s wrister beat Hart between the legs for his third goal and a 2-0 Columbus lead.
Werenski lost his balance on an attempted check on Philadelphia’s Travis Konecny along the boards late in the first period and left holding his right arm. He was later ruled out due to an upper-body injury.
Just 37 seconds into the second period, Gaudreau collected a Travis Konecny turnover in the Columbus zone and turned it into a three-on-one rush. Jenner then beat Carter top shelf for his third goal.
The Blue Jackets lost another defenseman in the second period when Erik Gudbranson was checked into the boards behind the Columbus net midway through the period and took a knee to the head. A penalty was initially called on Philadelphia’s Nicolas Deslauriers, but the call was rescinded upon review.
DeAngelo beat Korpisalo at 13:04 of the second. Another Flyers defenseman, Provorov, made it a one-goal game at 8:41 of the third.
Blankenburg ended any hopes of a Philadelphia comeback with an empty-net goal with 1:39 left. Jenner added another empty-netter with 18 seconds left to finish the scoring.
The Blue Jackets honored Philadelphia coach John Tortorella, the winningest coach in Columbus history, at the first timeout of the first period with a tribute on the videoboard and a “Torts Welcome Back” greeting. The crowd at Nationwide Arena gave Tortorella a standing ovation.
–Field Level Media
