Blue Jackets 5, Coyotes 2
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It took seven games and more than a month, but the Columbus Blue Jackets finally won in Nationwide Arena.
Center William Karlsson scored 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.
Left winger Boone Jenner, left winger Brandon Saad and center Ryan Johansen also scored for the Blue Jackets. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky had 27 saves.
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.
Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith allowed two goals on his first three shots but finished with 16 saves.
The Blue Jackets improved to 6-5-0 under coach John Tortorella, who took over for coach Todd Richards after an 0-7-0 start.
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 got back into the game when it 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.
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.
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 AHL Lake Erie on Saturday.