GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Columbus had seen the bounces go the other way, watched the other team make the winning plays.
To end a five-game losing streak, the Blue Jackets got the favorable bounce and executed just enough.
Gustav Nyquist had a goal and two assists, Joonas Korpisalo stopped 31 shots and the Blue Jackets held on through a furious late flurry to beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 on Thursday night.
“It’s good for them to get a result,” Columbus coach John Tortorella said. “There’s been some games this year when we didn’t.”
The Blue Jackets jumped on the Coyotes with an early goal, stumbled through stretches and pulled it together when they needed to most.
Emil Bemstrom got his first NHL goal in the second period after Arizona took a 2-1 lead. Korpisalo was superb throughout and Oliver Bjorkstrand scored midway through the third period after a bouncing puck skipped past Arizona defenseman Kyle Capobianco’s stick.
“Very fortunate because they could be going the other way very quickly,” Tortorella said.
The Coyotes had a two-man advantage for the final 1:48 after pulling goalie Darcy Kuemper and a Columbus penalty but couldn’t get anything past Korpisalo.
Carl Soderberg and Jakob Chychrun scored for the Coyotes, who have lost two straight for the first time since the opening two games of the season. Darcy Kuemper had 30 saves.
“Just a mentally weak,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. “That’s a game you’ve got to have.”
The Coyotes were coming off an overtime loss to Calgary after blowing a 3-1 third-period lead on two goals 49 seconds apart.
The Blue Jackets needed just 14 seconds to score Thursday. Nyquist got it, redirecting a shot by Seth Jones past Kuemper’s glove side.
Soderberg tied it midway through the first period with his fifth goal, punching in a rebound after Korpisalo stopped Lawson Crouse’s redirect attempt.
Kuemper made some spectacular saves when Columbus turned up the pressure to start the second period, and Chychrun put Arizona ahead 2-1 by beating Korpisalo with a wrister from the left circle.
Korpisalo also made a couple of difficult saves, including against Michael Grabner on a breakaway, and Bemstrom tied it late in the period on a power play by caroming a shot from behind the goal off Kuemper’s skate.
“I don’t care how it went in,” Bemstrom said. “I’m just glad it went in.”
Korpisalo stopped Grabner on another breakaway early in the third period and made some big saves down the stretch, particularly after the penalty and Arizona pulled Kuemper.
“A lot of times it’s the little things that add up at the end of the game, whether it’s winning a faceoff or getting a little pick for your D-man so they have extra time to make a play,” Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz said. “We’ve got to do those little things and hopefully they’ll add up at the end of the night.”
NOTES: Arizona D Jason Demers did not play due to a lower-body injury. … Columbus has won five straight in Arizona. … Coyotes C Brad Richardson and D Jordan Oesterle did not play, but both are close to returning from lower-body injuries.
UP NEXT
Columbus plays at Colorado on Saturday.
Arizona hosts Minnesota on Saturday.
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