COLUMBUS, Ohio — Riley Nash had a goal and an assist, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Minnesota Wild 4-2 on Thursday night.
Cam Atkinson and Artemi Panarin also scored to help the Blue Jackets move ahead of Washington for the Metropolitan Division lead.
Nash, who signed as a free agent last summer, got his first goal in 29 games — and first as a Blue Jacket — in the second period and assisted on Markus Hannikainen’s first-period tally. Columbus has won two in a row and six out of eight.
Mikael Granlund and Zach Parise scored for Minnesota, and Devan Dubnyk made 25 saves. The Wild have lost two in a row and four of six.
Granlund’s slap shot from the slot started it, putting the Wild on the board 7:46 into the game.
Hannikainen tapped in a bouncing puck later in the period to tie it.
Atkinson extended his points streak to nine games — tying his career high — when he beat Dubnyk from the right circle near the end of a power play early in the second period.
Columbus Blue Jackets’ Cam Atkinson, left, carries the puck behind the net as Minnesota Wild’s Ryan Suter defends during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Nash scored a few minutes later, redirecting a pass from Zach Weresnki, and Panarin’s wrist shot clanged in off the right post at 11:24 to make it a 4-1 game for Columbus.
Parise got one of them back for the Wild 42 seconds later off a wrap-around, extending his point streak to six games, but Minnesota couldn’t get any closer as both teams played a scoreless third period.
NOTES: Columbus’ John Tortorella coached his 1,200th NHL game, becoming the 18th coach in league history and the fifth active coach to reach that mark. … Wild D Greg Pateryn returned after missing one game because of illness. He replaced Nate Prosser. … Columbus F Anthony Duclair was scratched in favour of F Oliver Bjorkstrand, who was a healthy scratch for the past four games. Tortorella said Duclair is “dinged up” and day-to-day. … Minnesota G Alex Stalock and Columbus D Scott Harrington each played in their 100th career NHL game. … Blue Jackets centre Pierre-Luc Dubois’ two assists gave him 14 points in his past nine games.
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Mitch Stacy, The Associated Press
