Debrincat scores twice as Blackhawks top Blue Jackets 4-2
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Alex Debrincat scored twice and Calvin de Haan netted his first goal in nearly a year to lift the Chicago Blackhawks to their second straight road win, 4-2 over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.
Columbus has dropped four of five and lost at home to the Blackhawks for the seventh consecutive time.
Connor Murphy also scored for Chicago, and Marc-andre Fleury made 24 saves for his 11th win.
“We managed the puck in the neutral zone and got to work in the offensive zone,”
Blackhawks interim coach Derek King said. “For the most part I think we did a good job.”
Boone Jenner scored for Columbus, and Gus Nyquist had a short-handed goal and an assist.
Joonas Korpisalo stopped 16 shots in his third loss in four games.
“We had a couple of breakdowns,” Debrincat said, “but we battled hard, got the puck through the zone and went hard on the forecheck.”
Jenner put Columbus on the board, scoring off a behindthe-net feed from Nyquist at 12:51 of the first period for his team-leading 14th goal.
Debrincat pulled the Blackhawks even 24 seconds later, burying a blueline pass from Riley Stillman past Korpisalo’s glove side.
Debrincat’s goal continued an 11-game point streak against the Blue Jackets, dating back to the beginning of the 2018-19 season.
The Blackhawks went up 2-1 after Philipp Kurashev outraced Jake Bean and found the trailing de Haan, who scored his first of the season at 15:10 of the second. His previous goal came on Jan. 22, 2021, a span of 70 games.
Murphy, an Ohio native, made it 3-1 at 6:36 of the third period with a shot from the left circle. Patrick Kane’s helper extended his assist and point streak to five games.
Nyquist got Columbus within one on a short-handed goal at 18:39, before Debrincat slammed the door with an empty-netter with 14 seconds remaining for his team-leading 25th goal of the season.
“You get within one and you’re hoping you can find something there,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “We just couldn’t get it done.”