Jones breaks tie late for Ducks in win against Blue Jackets

ANAHEIM -- Max Jones broke a tie late in the third period for the Anaheim Ducks in a 7-4 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Honda Center on Friday.

Jones stole the puck from defenseman Andrew Peeke at the Columbus blue line and scored with a backhand on a breakaway to put Anaheim in front 5-4 at 17:23 of the third period, its fifth lead of the game.
"I was going to shoot, but when I was coming down I saw [goalie Michael Hutchinson] angle was a little off, so I figured I'd go with the backhand," Jones said.
Scott Harrington lofted a shot that bounced into the empty net with 48 seconds left to make it 6-4, and Ryan Strome scored another empty-net goal with 34 seconds remaining for the 7-4 final.
Harrington scored twice, Troy Terry and Strome each had a goal and an assist, Simon Benoit had two assists, and Lukas Dostal made 38 saves for the Ducks (23-36-10), who are 6-2-3 in their past 11 games.

Patrik Laine had a goal and an assist, and Hutchinson made 31 saves and had an assist for the Blue Jackets (21-40-7), who became the second NHL team eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention (San Jose Sharks).
"A lot of ups and downs this season and dealing with a little bit of adversity, but in the end that's what makes the great players," Columbus forward Cole Sillinger said.
Anaheim took a 1-0 lead at 3:19 of the first period on a one-timer by Trevor Zegras.
Nick Blankenburg redirected a pass through Dostal's pads to tie it 1-1 at 10:57. Blankenburg was circling out from behind the net when he saw Liam Foudy was about to receive a pass above the right circle. Blankenburg paused in the slot before redirecting Foudy's pass.
"I saw [Foudy] covering for me, so I was ready to go back and switch spots with him, and then he had the puck so I thought I'd stay there for a second," Blankenburg said. "Good heads-up play by him, so just happy it went in."

Harrington made it 2-1 at 14:37 with a point shot through traffic for his first goal with the Ducks since he was claimed off waivers from the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 28.
"It always feels good to score, it feels good to score the first goal with a new team," said Harrington, who played six seasons with Columbus. "It certainly doesn't hurt that it's against the old team."
Boone Jenner tied it 2-2 at 19:29 on a wrist shot off the rush.
Max Comtois scored on a wrist shot from the top of the left face-off circle to move Anaheim back ahead 3-2 at 3:44 of the second period.
The Blue Jackets tied it 3-3 at 16:35 when Sillinger redirected a pass from Kent Johnson while on a power play. The goal ended a 45-game drought for Sillinger, who hadn't scored since Nov. 17. He had 16 goals in 79 games as a rookie last season.
Terry redirected a pass from defenseman Colton White to move the Ducks ahead 4-3 at 2:25 of the third.
Laine scored the second power play of the game for Columbus when he put in his own rebound to tie 4-4 at 6:43.

The Blue Jackets are 8-for-21 (38.1 percent) on the power play in the past eight games.
"We're just having that shooting mentality and, obviously, we're finding some seams and then making some plays," Sillinger said. "That's what the power play is all about, is keeping it simple to an extent, but using your skill and your hockey instincts. Ever since the All-Star break, we're in the top half of the League [on the power play], which is good, it gives us some momentum."
NOTES:Jenner has four goals in the past four games ... It was Benoit's first NHL multipoint game. ... Laine has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in the past 10 games. ... Columbus killed both power plays by Anaheim and has killed 31 straight penalties against the Ducks over the past 13 games dating to Feb. 11, 2016. ... Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko has 17 goals and two assists. Only two players, Cy Denneny in 1923-24 and Brandon Pirri in 2014-15, have had at least 17 goals and two or fewer assists over an entire season. ... Columbus associate coach Pascal Vincent was not on the bench because of an illness. He was replaced by assistant Jared Boll. ... Zegras has eight points (three goals, five assists) in the past eight games. ... Ducks forward Derek Grant won 16 of 19 face-offs (84.2 percent).