Blue Jackets 5, Coyotes 3
Rookie Matt Calvert netted his first career hat trick and Steve Mason turned aside 25 shots as the Columbus Blue Jackets skated to a 5-3 home triumph over the Phoenix Coyotes on Friday.
R.J. Umberger collected a goal and two assists, Jakub Voracek also tallied and Derek MacKenzie set up a pair of goals as Columbus (31-23-6) posted its third win in a row and eighth in 10 outings (8-1-1).
With the game tied at 2-2, Calvert gave Columbus a lead it would not relinquish with a power-play goal just 2:37 into the second period. The 21-year-old Manitoba native scored again just over six minutes later and capped the hat trick by cleaning up a rebound 3:27 into the third period.
The offensive onslaught was more than enough for Mason, who rebounded from the shaky start to record his seventh win in his last eight outings.
David Schlemko netted his second goal in as many games and Radim Vrbata and Lauri Korpikoski also tallied for Phoenix (33-21-9), which has dropped two in a row after a season-best eight-game winning streak.
Mikkel Boedker notched a pair of assists and Ilya Bryzgalov turned aside 29 shots to fall to 27-15-6 on the campaign.