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Coyle set up Olivier’s goal, the eventual winner, for his third
point of the game. It gave the Blue Jackets a 3-1 lead 6:47 into
the second period.
Coyle, with five goals and nine points in his last three games,
finished off his second career three-goal effort with an
empty-netter with 1:03 left. He scored Columbus’ first two
goals, beating Spencer Knight from the doorstep on a power play
with 47 seconds left in the first period, and on a hard wrist
shot over Knight’s glove 1:23 into the second.
In between, Connor Bedard whistled a wrist shot past Elvis
Merzlikins with 2.7 seconds left in the first. Bedard set up
Chicago’s other goal, matched with a perfect feed to Frank Nazar
on a 3-on-2 break four minutes after Olivier’s goal. Nazar beat
Merzlikins from 25 feet.
Merzlikins stopped 22 shots, and Knight made 22 saves.
Columbus blanked the Blackhawks on their two power-play chances,
running their string of futility to 26 man-advantages and 10
games without a goal. Chicago’s last power-play goal was in
Nashville on Jan. 10.
The Blackhawks called up defenseman Sam Rinzel from Rockford
before the game, benching defenseman Artyom Levshunov, who was a
minus-5 in Thursday’s 6-2 loss at Pittsburgh and is minus-11 in
his last eight games.
Up next
Blue Jackets: At St. Louis on Saturday.
Blackhawks: Host San Jose on Monday.
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