Flames Fall In Columbus

COLUMBUS — Boone Jenner's late third-period goal proved decisive, as the Blue Jackets withstood two Flames comebacks to score a 5-3 win Tuesday at Nationwide Arena.

Morgan Frost, Rasmus Andersson and Mikael Backlund had the Calgary markers - all three goals coming on the powerplay - while Jet Greaves stopped 16 of 17 shots he faced in the third frame to quell the Flames comeback.

Columbus took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission on goals from Dante Fabbro and Charlie Coyle. Fabbro’s snap shot from the point opened the scoring just shy of the four-minute mark, while Coyle found space in the right circle later in the period, accepting a hard cross-ice pass from defenceman Jake Christiansen before snapping his eighth goal of the season.

The Blue Jackets had plenty of jump as the second period began, too. Kent Johnson had a chance to extend the lead on a powerplay, but Wolf slid across to deny a one-timer from the right circle in the Calgary zone.

Tempers flared just before the midway mark, and out of a pileup in the Flames end, Andersson dropped the mitts with Columbus captain Boone Jenner, getting the takedown after wrestling along the wall.

That spurred the Flames - and especially the powerplay - on. Less than a minute later, Calgary got its first man-advantage opportunity of the night, and they cashed in. Frost went to the front of the net, kicking a centring pass on goal that bounced off Blue Jackets goalie Jet Greaves back onto his twig, allowing the Flames centre to nudge home his ninth goal of the campaign through Greaves’ pads.

Then, in the final minute of the period, the home side was booked for too many men, and again Calgary struck. Off a won face-off to Greaves’ right, Yegor Sharangovich put the disc on a platter for Andersson, who slammed home his 10th goal of the season from the left point to even the score at 2-2.

Columbus got a two-man advantage early in the third, and they cashed in thanks to a Zach Werenski goal to reclaim the lead at 4:46.

But the Flames kept digging, and snagged a third powerplay goal of their own just over five minutes later, after Greaves spilled a Frost shot into the low slot, allowing Backlund to jam home a second rebound effort to even things up at 3-3.

Calgary fired 17 shots at Greaves in the third, but the Blue Jackets netminder stood firm the rest of the way, setting the stage for Jenner's decider with just over 90 seconds left on the clock.

Coyle added an empty-netter in the dying embers of the game to round out the scoring.

The Lineup:

FORWARDS

Jonathan Huberdeau - Nazem Kadri - Joel Farabee

Yegor Sharangovich - Mikael Backlund - Matt Coronato

Connor Zary - Morgan Frost - Adam Klapka

Ryan Lomberg - Justin Kirkland - William Stromgren

DEFENCE

Yan Kuznetsov - MacKenzie Weegar

Kevin Bahl - Rasmus Andersson

Joel Hanley - Brayden Pachal

GOALTENDERS

Dustin Wolf - starter

Devin Cooley

They Said It:

The Numbers Game:

Shots: CGY 32, CBJ 43

Powerplay: CGY 3-3, CBJ 1-4

Faceoffs: CGY 46.6%, CBJ 55.4%

Hits: CGY 12, CBJ 21

Blocked Shots: CGY 9, CBJ 15

5-on-5 Scoring Chances: CGY 23, CBJ 23

5-on-5 High-Danger Scoring Chances: CGY 10, CBJ 10

Up Next:

The five-game road trip wraps up in Chicago Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. MT, before the Flames return home to open a five-game homestand Saturday at 1 p.m. MT versus the New York Islanders. GET TICKETS