Johnson scores twice in 3rd, lifts Blue Jackets past Jets

WINNIPEG -- Kent Johnson scored two goals in a 2:27 span in the third period to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Sunday.

Johnson first gave the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead at 7:15, knocking in a rebound with his backhand after Sean Monahan redirected James van Riemsdyk's initial shot.

“They’re both just really good players and do some different things than me,” Johnson said of his linemates. “[Monahan’s] a really good center, like two-way, offense, defense, can make every play. And then [van Riemsdyk] can make every play, too, and he’s so good around the net, bigger body, likes to be there. I think they’re a really good fit with me.”

Johnson made it 3-1 at 9:42 with a one-timer off a pass from van Riemsdyk on a 2-on-1 rush.

“It was a perfect pass, so pretty easy to one-time,” Johnson said. “Definitely whenever you’re the one-time guy on a 2-on-1 you want it slid over to you, so it was nice.”

Dmitri Voronkov and Sean Kuraly also scored for the Blue Jackets (12-12-3), who ended a three-game losing streak. Elvis Merzlikins made 24 saves.

“We were really, really happy with the start,” Columbus coach Dean Evason said. “We went in and challenged the group that we have to start the same way. We started extremely well the other night in Vancouver (a 5-2 loss on Friday). ... We certainly played the same type of game. We started properly. They were ready to go. Credit to our leadership group.”

Kyle Connor scored for the Jets (20-9-0), who won their previous two games, including 4-2 at the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. Eric Comrie made 24 saves.

“Third period, made two mistakes. Turnover in our end, turnover in the neutral zone, they turned around and put them right back in our net,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “We're tied going into the third kind of like we've been the last few games, when (we) found ways to win hockey games. This one we made mistakes and it ended up in the back of our net.”

Connor gave the Jets a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 11:51 of the second period, scoring with a wrist shot from the right face-off dot under the glove of Merzlikins.

“I think we had some offensive zone shifts where you're almost looking for the perfect play,” Connor said. “By that time, they're able to collapse and take away the middle of the ice. I think being quicker to get pucks to the net and creating that chaos and those seam plays, everything else will come from that.”

Voronkov tied it 1-1 with his own power-play goal at 13:53. Kirill Marchenko flubbed a one-timer in the left circle, but the puck went right to Voronkov, who jammed it in at the right post.

"We made [the Jets] continually go back and get some pucks,” Evason said. “We didn't turn it over, we didn't feed into their transition game where they could get going and get their offense going. We got pucks out, we didn't let them have sustained pressure. Our guys were committed to doing the right things defensively, and obviously it translated into some offense here tonight as well.”

After Johnson put Columbus in front, Kuraly shot into an empty net at 18:38 of the third for the 4-1 final.

“That’s definitely a good measuring stick game. You know what kind of season those guys are having over there,” van Riemsdyk said. “It was one of those games I felt like we stuck with it the whole 60. I thought we played fairly consistent, no lapses in our game, and did the little things and took care of the details to win a game.”

Sunday was the conclusion of a stretch of five road games (2-3-0) in eight days for the Blue Jackets.

“I’m happy that we managed to handle it well, end on the right note to finish this road trip. It’s great,” Merzlikins said. “This win was really important. We’re tired from this long road trip, and [the Jets] had a back-to-back, so it was even. It was a good win. I’m really happy.”

NOTES: Van Riemsdyk had two assists after being held without a point in his previous six games. ... Columbus forward Cole Sillinger sustained a lower-body injury in third period. There was no update postgame. ... Blue Jackets forward Kevin Labanc played his 500th NHL game. … Winnipeg had won each of the previous three games against Columbus by a combined score of 17-3.