Blue Jackets Beat Bruins 6-4
BOSTON -- The Columbus Blue Jackets continued their strong play on the road and the Boston Bruins continued their dreadful play at home on Monday night.
Center Boone Jenner notched his second two-goal game in the last four and the Jackets made it 5-1-1 in their last seven road games with 6-4 victory over the Bruins.
Center William Karlsson, left wingers Scott Hartnell and Brandon Saad and defenseman Dalton Prout also scored for Columbus, which is 7-2-2 over its last 11 games but still came into the game with the third-worst point total in the NHL.
The Bruins, coming off a 4-2 road trip, came in with the league's third-worst home record and dropped to 12-15-3 at TD Garden. They have allowed 15 goals in their last two home games and are 1-3-1 in their last five.
Saad scored off a scramble at 14:29 of the third period to make it 5-3 (the goal unsuccessfully challenged by the Bruins). Then, after Bruins left winger Loui Eriksson cut the lead back down to one with his second goal of the game with 2:57 left, Prout lofted one from his own end into an empty net with 2:15 left.
Jenner scored his 20th and 21st goals of the season, while center Alexander Wennberg and defenseman Ryan Murray both had two assists for the Jackets, while left winger Matt Beleskey also scored twice for the Bruins (32-22-6).
Eriksson, who may or may not be traded by next week's trade deadline, has eight goals in the last nine game, 23 on the season.
Rookie goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, playing in his 13th straight game for Columbus (24-29-7), made 26 stops and is 9-2-3 over his last 14. Bruins goalie Jonas Gustavsson, shaky all night, made 29 saves.
Bruins defenseman Joe Morrow had his second straight two-assist game, after compiling three points in his first 22 games with the team this season.
The Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead at 10:52 of the first period when Jenner deflected home a one-timer by right winger Cam Atkinson.
It took the Bruins just 15 seconds to tie it and Jenner had a deflection there as well. He tipped a shot by Bruins defenseman Torey Krug and the puck then hit off Eriksson's right skate and went in. The Jackets challenged, saying Eriksson made contact with Korpisalo, and Columbus coach John Tortorella wasn't thrilled when the goal stood and he lost his timeout.
Jenner un-tied it with a goal just 21 seconds into the second period, off a pass from defenseman Seth Jones, and this time it took the Bruins 2:36 to tie it. Beleskey, who ended a 15-game goal drought Saturday night, deflected home a shot by Morrow.
Back came the Blue Jackets, with a hustle play by left winger Matt Calvert leading to the goal. Calvert dove and was on his stomach when he one-handed the puck to the front of the net. Karlsson found it and whisked it past a screened Gustavsson at 10:17.
Hartnell tipped home a shot by defenseman Ryan Murray at 17:21 -- 11 seconds into that power play -- and it was 4-2.
NOTES: Bruins C Ryan Spooner (illness) and D Torey Krug (left previous game with an injury) were both able to play. ... Columbus came in 1-for-16 on the power play in its previous five games, 2-for-24 in the last eight. The Jackets were 0-for-6 in a 4-0 loss at home to the Buffalo Sabres last Friday night. "I thought our power play made some good plays in the latter part of the game, but we need to score early on our power play to gain momentum and we're not doing that," said coach John Tortorella, who took a 23-22-7 record into Monday night's game after taking over an 0-7 team. ... Tortorella, a Boston native, missed the team's previous trip after breaking two ribs in a practice collision with RW Rene Bourque. ... Monday night was First Responder Night at TD Garden, with Sergeant Richard "Dic" Donohue, who was wounded on-duty in April 2013 while pursuing the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, dropping the first puck.
