Blue Jackets 5, Sharks 2
SAN JOSE -- At this rate, the Columbus Blue Jackets might petition the league to play the remainder of their games on the road.
Columbus beat the San Jose Sharks 5-2 on Wednesday at SAP Center to win for the third time in five games as visitors under the direction of new head coach John Tortorella. The Blue Jackets remain 0-5 at home.
Columbus scored twice within a 29-second span of the late second period to break a 2-2 tie and chase San Jose starting goalie Martin Jones. Left winger Matt Calvert scored into an empty net at 18:21.
Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky turned away 41 shots, including all 18 he faced in the third period, for the victory.
The Blue Jackets scored on consecutive shots 29 seconds apart late in the second period to break a 2-2 tie and take a 4-2 lead into the final period.
Center Boone Jenner scored his second of the night with a shot between the legs of San Jose goalie Martin Jones, who was late to the front of his net at 18:32. Jones stopped a Columbus dump-in, but left winger Scott Hartnell deflected San Jose defenseman Brent Burns' clearing attempt out front to Jenner.
Then, with just 58.9 seconds remaining, defenseman Ryan Murray scored his second goal of the season with a screen shot from the high slot that sailed over the shoulder of Jones.
Columbus broke a 1-1 tie earlier when at 8:54 Hartnell scored on a spectacular shot. He skated behind the net toward the left circle, and with San Jose right winger Mike Brown draped on him, Hartnell whirled to his left and roofed his fifth goal over the right shoulder of a surprised Jones.
San Jose tied the game 2-2 at 11:56 when rookie left winger Joonas Donskoi stripped Columbus left winger Nick Foligno on the boards and fed Joe Pavelski for a mini-breakaway that the right winger turned into his team-leading eighth goal and second of the night.
Three failed power plays followed, but gave the Sharks sustained momentum for the first time in the game until the final two minutes when everything fell apart.
The Sharks tied the game late in the first period on a Pavelski tip during a period otherwise dominated by the Blue Jackets.
Columbus enjoyed back-to-back power plays during the first five minutes, and converted 1:47 into defenseman Brenden Dillon's hold of Foligno to take an early lead.
Former Blackhawk Brandon Saad pounced on a rebound of center Brandon Dubinsky's shot and muscled his fifth goal of the season past Jones at 6:11.
Jones withstood a constant Columbus push throughout most of the period as the Sharks were guilty of running around in their own end and turning the puck over frequently.
Late in the opening period Pavelski extended his goal-scoring streak to a career-high five games by fending off Murray to tip defenseman Justin Braun's point drive past Bobrovsky at 18:56 to tie the game at one.
NOTES: Injured Sharks C Logan Couture told CSN Bay Area he's "definitely making progress" following surgery to repair a broken right fibula sustained Oct. 15 during a practice in New Jersey. Couture has progressed to wearing a walking boot after spending two weeks on crutches. He is not expected to return before Dec. 1, though. San Jose was 3-5 without Couture before Tuesday. ... The Blue Jackets cap an all-California trip with games Thursday in Los Angeles and Friday in Anaheim. ... G Martin Jones followed a 4-0 start (0.48 goals-against average, .982 save percentage) with a 2-3 mark (3.02, .894) since before Tuesday's start. ... San Jose promoted D Karl Stollery from their American Hockey League affiliate in San Jose and assigned D Dylan DeMelo to the Barracuda. ... C Ben Smith is day-to-day with a head injury after suffering a relapse Saturday in Dallas. ... Columbus C Alexander Wennberg is out with a lower-body injury. RW Rene Bourque and D Dalton Prout were healthy scratches for the Blue Jackets.