DENVER (AP) — Jake Bean scored twice, including the winner 1:12 into overtime, and the Columbus Blue Jackets rebounded after surrendering a late two-goal lead, beating the Colorado Avalanche 5-4 on Wednesday night.
Bean skated in and lined a shot through the pads of Avalanche goaltender Jonas Johansson as the Blue Jackets improved to 4-0 this season in games decided after regulation.
Cole Sillinger scored twice and Boone Jenner added a goal for the Blue Jackets, who finished their three-game trip with a 2-1 mark.
Down 4-2 in the third, Colorado got a goal from J.T. Compher with 3:26 remaining and tied it up on Bowen Byram’s second goal of the game with 52 seconds remaining. Logan O’Connor also scored for Colorado.
Columbus trailed 2-0 late in the second period before scoring four straight to take the lead. Bean got the scoring spree going in the second and Sillinger tied the game 1:13 into the third. Sillinger wasn’t done, knocking in a pass from Gabriel Carlsson over a sliding Avalanche defenseman with 15:34 remaining. It was the first multi-goal game of Sillinger’s career.
Jenner added another to make it 4-2 and quiet the Ball Arena crowd. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 28 shots.
Colorado pulled Johansson with 1:43 remaining, and after three icing calls a tired Columbus crew saw Byram knock in a goal from the blue line.
Nazem Kadri and Gabriel Landeskog each had three assists. Landeskog now has 301 career assists and moved into 10th place on the franchise’s all-time list.
Johansson made 32 saves for the Avalanche.
The injury-riddled Avalanche were missing forwards Mikko Rantanen, Andre Burakovsky, Valeri Nichushkin and Stefan Matteau, along with defensemen Cale Makar and Devon Toews.
FORMER TEAM, PART I
Avalanche defensemen Ryan Murray and Jack Johnson have deep ties with Columbus. Murray was the No. 2 overall pick in 2012 by the Blue Jackets and played seven seasons for the organization. Johnson was with Columbus from 2012-18.
“It’s probably more nostalgic for (Murray) now because this is three teams ago for me,” Johnson said.
Added Murray: “It’s a pretty different team over there now than when we were both there.”
FORMER TEAM, PART II
Columbus coach Brad Larsen lined up with Hall of Famers such as Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Ray Bourque, Patrick Roy and Rob Blake when he was a forward with Colorado. He played a role in the team hoisting a Stanley Cup in 2000-01.
“The standard was winning the Stanley Cup, that was it,” Larsen said. “To be around that is something I still use now as a coach, those experiences.”
FORMER TEAM, PART III
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar served as the head coach of Columbus’ American Hockey League affiliate and captured the 2016 Calder Cup.
“They were nothing but great to me,” Bednar said.
UP NEXT
The Blue Jackets and Avalanche finish a home-and-home set Saturday in Columbus.
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