By Eric Smith
FOXSportsOhio.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A fluky goal gave the Phoenix Coyotes a 4-3 win over the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday night. Coyotes defenseman Derek Morris fired a shot from the right point that Blue Jackets goalie Mathieu Garon blocked with his blocker, only to have the puck pop up into the air, roll down his back and into the goal with 9:12 left in the third period.
"I think Garon reached out to block it before Marty (Martin Hanzal) got there," Morris said. "It just squirted up. You'll take any goals you can get."
The opening of the game couldn't have been scripted any better for the Jackets, as they opened up with a goal by Jared Boll at 2:56 of the first period and then came right back less than three minutes later with another score when Rostislav Klesla fired home a puck from the blue line.
"We came out really good today in the first period," Kristian Huselius said. "It's just confidence for us right now. We get up and then we sit back and let them take charge again."
Phoenix started its comeback in the second period when Vernon Fiddler won a faceoff with play at four-on-four. Lauri Korpikoski grabbed the puck from the opposite end of the ice, streaked up the right side as Derek Dorsett was leaving the penalty box and delivered a cross-crease feed back to Fiddler, who beat Garon (8-9-2) low on his glove side.
One minute later, Huselius put home a shot from the right circle after Fedor Tyutin delivered a cross-ice pass from the half wall to get the Jackets back up by two with 16:46 left in the second period.
Then the Coyotes scored three straight goals to continue Columbus' frustrations. Eric Belanger answered Huselius' power-play goal only 27 seconds later.
Momentum really swung to the Coyotes when Radim Vrbata scored 37 seconds into the third period just as Klesla was exiting the penalty box.
Ilya Bryzgalov (15-8-6) saved 37 of 40 shots and was under a lot of pressure throughout the night.
"I thought Bryzgalov came back and played a strong two periods," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. "The last two periods we took some penalties, and he hung in strong for us."
With the Jackets on a five-game skid, Columbus coach Scott Arniel is looking for moral victories in an effort to maintain some confidence.
"We threw 40 shots at them, and you think back to the second period when it was 3-2 and we had three shifts in a row where we had six or seven scoring chances," Arniel said. "That goal at the end, obviously when you lose four in a row, that is the type of goal that goes in. When you are on winning streaks, those stay out."
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