Johnson, Flames blank Blue Jackets
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Chad Johnson made 34 saves, and the Calgary Flames handed the Columbus Blue Jackets their first shutout loss of the season, 2-0 Wednesday at Nationwide Arena.
Troy Brouwer's second-period goal was all the support Johnson needed. Micheal Ferland added a power-play goal in the third period for the final margin.
Calgary (9-12-1) earned its fourth win in six games. Columbus (10-5-3) lost its second in a row immediately after a four-game winning streak.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 18 saves for the Blue Jackets.
The Flames transitioned through the neutral zone much faster than the uncharacteristically slower Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets were unable to create any sustained pressure on the Flames' in the offensive zone, with Calgary forcing turnovers throughout the game.
Calgary played a heavy-checking game that the Blue Jackets couldn't break through in the first period, although Columbus managed a 10-4 shot advantage.
While the Flames did little offensively in the first period, they gained momentum in the second frame after killing off a four-minute minor penalty assessed to Matthew Tkachuk for high-sticking Seth Jones.
That proved to be the turning point of the game.
After the Flames forced a turnover on Jones' attempted pass out of his zone to mid-ice, Calgary came across the blue line three abreast. Kris Versteeg dished an off-balance, backhand pass to the front of the net. Brouwer was on the doorstep to bang it home, giving the Flames a 1-0 lead at 6:35 of the second period.
Ferland doubled the advantage at 6:25 of the third period. As the Blue Jackets were attempting to clear the zone, Dennis Wideman managed to keep the puck in play along the blue line, setting up Ferland.
NOTES: LW Matt Calvert played his 300th career game Wednesday, all with the Blue Jackets ... RW Kris Versteeg returned to the Flames lineup after missing nine games with a groin strain ... Flames LW Matthew Tkachuk and Blue Jackets D Zach Werenski faced each other for the first time Wednesday in their NHL careers. They previously played together on the U.S. National Team Development Program in 2013-14 ... Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan and Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella previously coached together in Vancouver in 2013-14 ... Columbus recalled LW Markus Hannikainen from the AHL's Cleveland Monsters ... Blue Jackets scratched D Dalton Prout, D Scott Harrington and LW Matt Calvert (upper-body) ... Flames scratched D Jyrki Jokipakka and C Hunter Shinkaruk.