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Defenseman Seth Jones collected a goal and an
assist and Gustav Nyquist also tallied for the Blue Jackets, who
won a season-high sixth game in a row and improved to 16-2-4 in
their past 22 contests.
Columbus' Pierre-Luc Dubois notched three assists for the third
time in his career and the second time this season. Bjorkstrand
scored multiple goals in a third straight appearance, setting a
franchise record.
Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins finished with 27 saves
to continue his torrid stretch. The rookie has won five in a row
and sports a 9-2-0 record since No. 1 goaltender Joonas
Korpisalo went down with a knee injury.
After rallying from a trio of one-goal deficits, Columbus seized
its first lead of the contest with 5:38 remaining in the third
period. Bjorkstrand capped his fourth multi-goal performance in
his last six games by skating in from the right circle and
beating Laurent Brossoit (25 saves) for his team-leading 16th
tally of the season.
Kyle Connor scored his team-leading 25th goal and had an assist
for the Jets, who have lost four in a row and six of their past
seven contests. Mason Appleton and defenseman Neal Pionk also
tallied for Winnipeg.
Appleton cleaned up a rebound in the slot to open the scoring at
4:38 of the first period before Jones answered 88 seconds later
following a hard drive to the net. Jones skated around Nikolaj
Ehlers and Pionk before tucking the puck past Brossoit for his
fifth goal of the season.
Connor deflected defenseman Anthony Bitetto's shot from the
point to give Winnipeg a 2-1 lead with 2:54 remaining in the
first period before Bjorkstrand answered with a one-timer 1:28
into the second.
Pionk's power-play shot from the point gave Winnipeg its third
lead of the contest at 15:33 of the second.
However, Nyquist answered by poking home a loose puck for a
power-play tally of his own with 2:05 left in the middle period.
--Field Level Media
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