That proved big for the Blue Jackets when they tied the score on the power play at 17:36. Bemstrom had time and space off a feed from Cam Atkinson and fired off of Kuemper, but he tracked the rebound off the back wall and then banked the puck just across the line off the backside of the Arizona netminder.
Korpisalo made another excellent stop to keep it a 2-2 game early in the third, as Grabner again found himself on a breakaway only to be stoned by the Blue Jackets goalie. Again, that proved to be a critical stop as Bjorkstrand tallied to give Columbus a 3-2 lead with 9:48 to go. Pierre-Luc Dubois brought the puck in the zone strongly and centered a pass that deflected to Bjorkstrand, who slammed it past Kuemper from in front after defenseman Kyle Capobianco whiffed on a clearing try.
From there, Columbus brought it home, including surviving 1:48 on the kill to end the game.
3 Takeaways
1. Maybe the Blue Jackets should have movie time before every game. With the team in a goal-scoring slump with just five goals in the previous four games, the coaching staff put on a video before practice that showed the team scoring goals. The video also showed on a loop after practice, and the message was clear: There is talent in the room to put the puck in the net. It still wasn't a deluge of goals by any stretch, but the Blue Jackets got one early, added a power-play marker and then watched Bjorkstrand win it late. "Sometimes seeing that (video) as a team and guys scoring goals, you kind of mentally get that picture in your head," he said. "Sometimes it can spark something."
2. After a bit of a bobble vs. Philadelphia and Edmonton, Korpisalo has clearly found his game. He's allowed just two goals in each of his past three starts and posted a .930 save percentage in that span. Tonight, his breakaway stops on Grabner highlighted an all-around excellent performance, and it was nice that the stops were rewarded by the Jackets scoring goals shortly after each denial. In all, he finished with 31 saves. "I think we played really good in front of the net, too," he said when asked about his showing. "First period I got a lot of shots pretty early so I got in the game pretty easily."
3. There's nothing quite like watching a player score his first NHL goal, and it was particularly nice that Bemstrom's tally was a huge one as the Blue Jackets needed a spark on the power play while down in the second period. The 20-year-old rookie from Sweden has clearly been getting more comfortable on the ice, but he hadn't had a reward on the stat sheet until tonight. Now, it'll be interesting to see if the spigot opens for someone who clearly has some skill at putting the puck in the net. "I felt like I wanted to make some more plays," he said of his reaction to the goal. "I just want to have the puck more."
Notable
Both teams had 33 shots on goal. ... Nyquist had his first multipoint game as a Blue Jacket and the first three-point game of the season for a Blue Jacket. … Dubois now has a six-game point streak in road games (5-2-7) and seven points (3-4-7) in his last eight games. … Arizona entered the game at 94.1 percent at home on the penalty kill but Columbus went 1-for-4. … Columbus kept alive its streak of getting points in every game this season in which it scored first (6-0-0) and when tied after two periods (4-0-3). … Arizona was 0-for-3 on the power play. … Columbus has now won eight of the last nine vs. Arizona.
Roster Report
The Blue Jackets had two changes to the lineup, both injury related. Alexandre Texier returned to the lineup after missing four games with a knee injury, taking the place of Kole Sherwood, while Scott Harrington went in for Markus Nutivaara (upper body).
Up Next
Columbus visits Colorado on Saturday night for a 9 p.m. ET start.
