Midwest MFA AgriServices

01/30 22:26 CST Coyle's three-goal game leads Blue Jackets to a 4-2 win over the Blackhawks Coyle's three-goal game leads Blue Jackets to a 4-2 win over the Blackhawks By TIM CRONIN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) --- Charlie Coyle had his second career hat trick, Mathieu Olivier added a goal and an assist and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Friday night. The win was Columbus' fourth straight and eighth in the last nine games (8-0-1). The Blackhawks lost in regulation for the third time in five games (0-3-2). Coyle set up Olivier's goal, the eventual winner, for his third point of the game. It gave the Blue Jackets a 3-1 lead 6:47 into the second period. Coyle, with five goals and nine points in his last three games, finished off his second career three-goal effort with an empty-netter with 1:03 left. He scored Columbus' first two goals, beating Spencer Knight from the doorstep on a power play with 47 seconds left in the first period, and on a hard wrist shot over Knight's glove 1:23 into the second. In between, Connor Bedard whistled a wrist shot past Elvis Merzlikins with 2.7 seconds left in the first. Bedard set up Chicago's other goal, matched with a perfect feed to Frank Nazar on a 3-on-2 break four minutes after Olivier's goal. Nazar beat Merzlikins from 25 feet. Merzlikins stopped 22 shots, and Knight made 22 saves. Columbus blanked the Blackhawks on their two power-play chances, running their string of futility to 26 man-advantages and 10 games without a goal. Chicago's last power-play goal was in Nashville on Jan. 10. The Blackhawks called up defenseman Sam Rinzel from Rockford before the game, benching defenseman Artyom Levshunov, who was a minus-5 in Thursday's 6-2 loss at Pittsburgh and is minus-11 in his last eight games.

Up next Blue Jackets: At St. Louis on Saturday. Blackhawks: Host San Jose on Monday. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

	Copyright DTN. All rights reserved. Disclaimer.