Alexander Nylander had two goals with an assist, Johnny Gaudreau also recorded three points and Daniil Tarasov stopped 39 shots, as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the visiting San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Saturday night.
Gaudreau, who also scored, posted one of his two assists on a goal by Nylander, who has 11 points in 11 games since being acquired from Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Tarasov was stout, especially while stopping 18 of 19 shots in the third period as the Blue Jackets halted an 0-2-1 rut, despite being outshot 41-20.
Fabian Zetterlund and Henry Thrun scored for San Jose, which has lost three in a row amid a 1-10-2 stretch. Magnus Chrona made 16 saves for the Sharks, who are also mired in an 0-4-1 road rut.
Though the Blue Jackets were outshot 11-9 in the opening period, they were the first to get on the board with 2:19 remaining before the first intermission. Via a two-on-one, Gaudreau passed the puck to Boone Jenner, who paused, then backhanded it underneath a sprawled Chrona and just over the goal line.
Columbus needed only 49 seconds into the second period to take a 2-0 advantage. A San Jose turnover amid its line change led to the Blue Jackets’ Ivan Provorov sending a long pass for Nylander, who drove the puck past Chrona.
The Sharks, however, cut their deficit in half with 8:12 remaining in the second period. From the wing, Mario Ferraro sent the puck toward the net, where it glanced off Provorov’s stick and eventually got to Zetterlund, who converted in front of Tarasov.
Columbus, though, regained that two-goal edge with 4:57 left in the middle frame. Sneaking to the side of the net, Gaudreau, off Nylander’s shot, successfully tucked the goal by an out-of-position Chrona.
San Jose made things interesting when defenseman Thrun came into the slot, grabbed the puck and drove it by Tarasov with 8:18 remaining in regulation. Nylander scored an empty-netter to seal the victory.
–Field Level Media
