Struggling Blue Jackets bounce back to beat Jets

Kent Johnson broke a tie midway through the third period and the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied for a 3-1 win against the visiting Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.

Johnson put the Blue Jackets ahead 2-1 at 9:40 of the third with a no-look shot from the right circle through traffic.

Patrik Laine had a goal and an assist, and Joonas Korpisalo made 35 saves for Columbus, which won for just the second time in its past seven games.

Kyle Connor scored for the Jets, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. David Rittich made 21 saves.

Korpisalo had to be sharp in the first period as the Jets dominated, outshooting the Blue Jackets 12-2 in the frame. He denied defenseman Nate Schmidt from the right circle less than two minutes into the contest and made a pad save on a one-timer from defenseman Josh Morrissey from the same spot just past the four-minute mark.

The Jets finally connected with 1.8 seconds remaining in the period. Winnipeg pressed on a 5-on-3 advantage, and seconds after the first penalty expired, Connor connected from the right circle, beating Korpisalo far side for a 1-0 lead.

Columbus found the back of the net with their own power-play tally exactly midway through the middle period. With Pierre-Luc Dubois in the box for the second time in the period, Laine wired a wrist shot from the left circle into the top far corner to tie it 1-1.

The two sides traded chances the rest of the period.

Winnipeg had an opportunity to retake the lead with another two-man advantage but couldn't convert.

Columbus defenseman Erik Gudbranson took advantage of Jets rookie Cole Perfetti slipping at the Jackets' blue line to pick steal the puck and break in, but Rittich made the stop.

Dubois broke in shorthanded with under three minutes remaining in the period, but a backchecking Laine limited the shot, which Korpisalo then stopped.

Boone Jenner scored an empty-net goal with 2.1 seconds remaining.