Bobrovsky, Blue Jackets shut out Coyotes

COLUMBUS -- Sergei Bobrovsky made 35 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, Josh Anderson scored 30 seconds into the first period, and the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Arizona Coyotes 1-0 at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.
Columbus (19-10-1) has won two in a row and 10 of its past 13 games (10-3-0).

Bobrovsky, who started on consecutive nights for the third time this season, has 23 NHL shutouts.
WATCH: [All Coyotes vs. Blue Jackets highlights]
"Every opportunity is a challenge, a new challenge," Bobrovsky said. "I felt pretty good. I had a good warmup. I had a good sleep, a good rest. I was ready."
Bobrovsky set a Blue Jackets record for holding the lead in a 1-0 shutout (59:30). The previous record was 52:47 by Marc Denis on Feb. 12, 2003, when Rick Nash scored 7:13 into the first period against the San Jose Sharks. Denis made 38 saves.

Antti Raanta, starting for the first time in eight games since an upper-body injury on Nov. 22, made 33 saves for the Coyotes (7-20-5). Arizona is 1-4-2 in the past six games after going 4-1-0.
"We had some chances," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. "Even after the goal we had some two-on-ones, a couple of breakaways, hit the crossbar."
Anderson scored his Blue Jackets-high 11th goal off the sixth straight primary assist in the past two games by Artemi Panarin. Anderson came around the net and his shot from the left circle went over Raanta's left shoulder.
"I felt better and better when the game was going on," Raanta said. "You have to be ready when the puck drops. You need to make that save. Even though there were a lot of good things, everybody remembers the one goal, and you're responsible for that."
Anderson has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past nine games.
The Coyotes had their chances to tie the score.

Panarin received a minor for hooking and another for high sticking Oliver Ekman-Larsson with 2:53 left in the third period. Clayton Keller hit the crossbar with 2:18 remaining and Raanta was pulled for a 6-on-4 with 1:12 to go.
"The first part of that power play we were a little bit sluggish, but at the end, when we got set up, we had some Grade A chances," Coyotes left wing Max Domi said. "Keller hit the crossbar there. That could have easily gone in."
The Coyotes were 0-for-4 on the power play.
"I thought, for the most part, honestly, we outplayed them," Domi said. "It would have been nice if we got a couple of goals on the power play."
The Blue Jackets have killed 34 of the past 36 shorthanded situations.
"It's offset some of our problems," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "It's been that good as our power play has struggled. You hope it kind of evens the ledger out. Hopefully we can get them both going at the same time."
Cam Atkinson, the Blue Jackets' leading scorer the past two seasons, was a healthy scratch for the first time this season.

The forward has nine points (six goals, three assists) in 25 games. Since signing a seven-year, $41.125 million contract extension on Nov. 17, he has two goals (against the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 24) and one assist, with no points in the past six games.
Sonny Milano was recalled from Cleveland of the American Hockey League to replace him. Milano played 8:34 and was sent back to Cleveland after the game.

Goal of the game

Anderson's goal 30 seconds into the first period.

Save of the game

Bobrovsky's save on a Max Domi slap shot at 19:45 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Raanta's save on Pierre-Luc Dubois at 9:33 of the third period.

They said it

"It was a big mistake by me. It was the game-deciding goal. It's tough to take, [a] 1-0 loss is always tough to take. Fifty-nine minutes and 30 seconds was that kind of game I wanted to play." -- Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta
"Every game, [Bobrovsky] gives us a chance to win. He kept us in the game when we were falling asleep a little bit. He's one of the best goalies in the NHL for a reason." -- Blue Jackets center Pierre-Luc Dubois
"Bobrovsky is a hell of a goalie and John Tortorella teams are pretty good at gobbling up second chances. You've got to really earn your turf against that team." -- Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet

Need to know

The Coyotes played their NHL-high 20th road game (4-12-4). … Arizona defenseman Kyle Capobianco, who made his NHL debut Thursday against the Boston Bruins, was a healthy scratch. … Columbus was 0-for-2 on the power play and has three goals in its past 46 opportunities.

What's next

Coyotes:At the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; WGN, FS-A, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, SNOL, NHL.TV)