Flames 4, Blue Jackets 2
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Center Sam Bennett scored two goals, giving him eight goals in five games, and the Calgary Flames pulled away from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 4-2 victory on Thursday in Nationwide Arena.
Left winger Johnny Gaudreau's 20th goal at 1:28 of the third period gave Calgary the lead for good.
The Flames, who also got a goal from right winger Michael Frolik, never trailed but lost leads of 1-0 and 2-1. Center Mikael Backlund and defenseman Mark Giordano each had two assists.
Calgary goaltender Karri Ramo, after a three-game break, finished with 26 saves.
It was a tough night all around for Columbus.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky left the game at 11:30 of the second period with what the club termed a lower-body injury. Bobrovsky missed seven weeks with a groin injury before returning on Tuesday.
Left winger Scott Hartnell and center Brandon Dubinsky scored for the Blue Jackets, who have lost four straight at home.
Bobrovsky stopped 11 of 13 shots when he departed. Rookie Joonas Korpisalo replaced him and stopped 12 of 14 shots.
Flames left winger Micheal Ferland left the game early in the second period after a hit by Blue Jackets center William Karlsson and did not return. The club said he had an upper-body injury.
The Flames took a 1-0 lead with only 7.3 seconds remaining in the first period, when Frolik slid a rebound through Bobrvosky's pads after a shot by Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton.
The Blue Jackets tied the score at 1 at 3:37 of the second.
Hartnell, a surprise healthy scratch on Tuesday vs. Washington, scored his 16th goal of the season. After Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones fired a shot off the end boards, Hartnell gathered the puck and buried it.
The Flames regained the lead only 38 seconds later, however, when Bennett potted his 12th of the season at the end of a 3-on-2 rush, finishing off a pass from Giordano.
The Blue Jackets, who have been last in the NHL since early December, pushed back again.
Just seconds after Dubinsky won a faceoff back to defenseman Ryan Murray, Ramo left a huge rebound into the slot and Dubinsky was there to score off his backhand.
The Flames did what so many other teams have done to the Blue Jackets this season pulled away in the third period.
Gaudreau snapped off a tight-angle shot from below the left circle, sailing the puck just over Korpisalo's shoulder and under the crossbar.
Bennett scored the capper at 14:28, outracing Blue Jackets defenseman Dalton Prout to a loose puck behind Korpisalo and scoring on a wrap-around.
Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, in just his second game back from a groin injury, left the game with what the club called a lower-body injury at 11:30 of the second period.
NOTES: Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella and Flames coach Bob Hartley have a rivalry stretching back 20 years when they coached against each other in the minor leagues. The most notable clash came two years ago -- Jan. 18, 2014 -- when Tortorella, as Vancouver Canucks coach, tried to charge into the Flames' dressing room during the first intermission. He said he's "embarrassed" about what happened, that it was "absolute stupidity." ... Flames C Lance Bouma missed his fourth straight game with a leg laceration, but he could return Sunday when Calgary plays the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C. ... Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno (concussion) skated for the first time since Jan. 8. He likely won't return to the lineup until after the NHL All-Star Game weekend.