Kent Johnson scored a pair of third-period goals for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who ended a three-game losing streak and a five-game road trip with a 4-1 victory over the host Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
Johnson scored his goals less than 2 1/2 minutes apart for his second two-goal game of the season. When he scored his first marker on Sunday, Johnson was at the corner of the net when Sean Monahan directed the puck his way in the crease for a 2-1 lead with 12:45 left in regulation.
Then Johnson put home an insurance goal with 10:18 remaining, finishing off a two-on-one rush following a cross-ice feed from James van Riemsdyk. That was the second of two assists on the night for van Riemsdyk.
Johnson’s goals rewarded a solid defensive effort against one of the top teams in the league. Winnipeg, which put 44 shots on goal when the two teams met in Columbus on Nov. 1, managed just 25 on Sunday.
The Jets’ lone goal came from Kyle Connor, whose team-high 15th opened the scoring and came with 8:09 remaining in the second period while Winnipeg was on a power play. Josh Morrissey got his team-high 24th assist of the season on the marker.
Columbus has now allowed a power-play goal in each of its past 13 games.
However, the Jets’ lead was short-lived. Winnipeg’s Brad Lambert was called for high-sticking against Ivan Provorov with 6:58 remaining in the second. Fifty-one seconds after the penalty was called, Dmitri Voronkov tied the game at 1-1 with his seventh goal of the campaign.
Elvis Merzlikins stopped 24 shots to get the win. Winnipeg, which was finishing up a back-to-back, got 24 saves from Eric Comrie, who lost his fourth straight start in goal.
Sean Kuraly added an unassisted empty-net goal with 1:22 left in the third period to secure the road win for Columbus and end the Jets’ modest two-game winning streak.
–Field Level Media