Columbus, OH (Sports Network) - Keith Yandle dished out three assists, and Jason LaBarbera turned aside 31-of-32 shots, as the Phoenix Coyotes scored four unanswered goals to take down the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-1, at Nationwide Arena.
LaBarbera Leads Coyotes Past Blue Jackets, 4-1
James Vandermeer, Zbynek Michalek, Martin Hanzal and Robert Lang each had a goal for the Coyotes, who snapped a brief two-game skid.
Derick Brassard had the lone score for the Blue Jackets, who have lost two in a row and four of five. Steve Mason stopped 19-of-23 shots for Columbus, which suffered its first home loss of the season.
The Blue Jackets used a Brassard power-play goal with 1:39 left in the first period to take a 1-0 edge. A shot from the right point set up a rebound in front, and Brassard was there to fire a wrister past LaBarbera.
Hanzal's power-play score at the 10:33 mark of the second tied things up. Yandle led a rush down the left side of the ice before dishing a pass to Ed Jovanovski, whose shot set up a tip-in for Hanzal.
At the 13:17 mark, Vandermeer gave Phoenix a 2-1 lead on a shot from the point that went through traffic in front before finding the back of the net.
Michalek’s one-timer on the power play put the Coyotes ahead 3-1 with 9:05 to play in the third.
Phoenix used a Lang power-play goal with 5:23 remaining to build a three-goal margin. After Columbus failed to clear its own zone, Yandle collected the disc and faked a shot before sliding a pass to Lang, who fired a shot from the bottom of the left circle over that went over Mason’s shoulder and into the net.
Columbus recorded a 2-0 road win over the Coyotes on October 10, ending a four-game slide against Phoenix. The Blue Jackets have still lost four in a row and five of their last six home tests against the Coyotes...The Coyotes will end a three-game road trip on Thursday in St. Louis...The Blue Jackets host the Penguins on Friday...The Coyotes announced Wednesday a time change for the team's game versus the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, December 26 at Jobing.com Arena. The game will now start at 10:00 p.m. (et)...Phoenix improved to 4-2-0 as the road team this year...Columbus dropped to 3-1-0 at home this season.
-- Recap via Sports Network.
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