Upshall had 2 goals, 2 assists to help Coyotes top Blue Jackets 5-2

Coyotes topple Blue Jackets 5-2

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Scottie Upshall had two goals and two assists to help the Phoenix Coyotes beat the reeling Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 Monday night for their seventh straight home win.

The Coyotes’ home winning streak is the team’s longest since winning eight straight from Feb. 12 to March 24, 2002.

Shane Doan and Matthew Lombardi each had a goal and two assists, Radim Vrbata also scored and Ed Jovanovski added two assists for the Coyotes, who have won three of their past four. Phoenix is 9-2-1 since losing consecutive games in Edmonton and Calgary just before Thanksgiving.

Derick Brassard and Antoine Vermette scored for the Blue Jackets, who are winless in their past seven (0-5-2) and 1-7-3 in the month of December.

Upshall took a pass from Lombardi at the left doorstep and beat Mathieu Garon with a quick wrist shot to give Phoenix a 1-0 lead. The two teammates traded roles six minutes later as Lombardi took a pass off the left boards from Upshall and bounced a shot off Garon’s blocker.

Doan made it 3-0 at 4:39 of the second when he swooped in after Jovanovski’s shot hit the left post and swept the puck into the vacated right side of the net on Phoenix’s first shot on net in the period.

Brassard pulled the Blue Jackets within 3-1 at 6:27 of the period when he scored on a long rebound from the bottom of the left circle. But Vrbata answered at 13:19, swiping at a puck in the middle of the left faceoff circle and deflecting a shot off the right thigh of Columbus defenseman Marc Methot.

Upshall completed his four-point night at 7:19 of the third on a wrist shot from the top right of the crease after Jovanovski’s slap shot hit Columbus defenseman Fedor Tyutin in the leg in front of the net.

Vermette was credited with a goal when the puck bounced off his skate and past Ilya Bryzgalov with 11:13 to go.

NOTES: Phoenix center Martin Hanzal left the game after he was cut open during a fight with Jared Boll immediately following Vrbata’s goal. Hanzal later was given an assist on the score to go with his five-minute major. … Phoenix won the final three games between the clubs after losing 2-0 in the Coyotes’ home opener. … Before the game, the Coyotes signed 34-year-old veteran Anders Eriksson and recalled the defenseman from San Antonio of the AHL. To make room for Eriksson, who assisted on Lombardi’s goal, the Coyotes reassigned defenseman David Schlemko to San Antonio. … Columbus captain Rick Nash was held scoreless for the second straight game for the second time this month.