Columbus rallies to dump Blues

ST. LOUIS -- Rick Nash and the Columbus Blue Jackets finally found a way to win in St. Louis.

Nash, Andrew Murray and Fedor Tyutin each scored in the third period, and the Blue Jackets tallied five unanswered goals to beat the Blues 5-2 on Saturday night.

Columbus, which came back from a 2-0, first-period deficit, has earned at least a point in five straight games.

St. Louis has lost three of four.

Columbus had won just one time in 11 previous trips to St. Louis.

Columbus' Derek Dorsett, left, and St. Louis' Brad Winchester fight during the first period Saturday.

"This has been a real tough place for us to play -- no success here at all," Nash said. "We knew we had to do something to change things around."

The Blue Jackets' last regulation win in St. Louis was a 4-1 victory March 27, 2007.

Columbus used some early physical play to help set the tone. The Blue Jackets engaged in two fights in the first 2:28. Derek Dorsett battled St. Louis winger Brad Winchester just 10 seconds into the game.

Enforcer Jared Boll, who scored the tying goal midway through the second period, fought with B.J. Crombeen just more than two minutes later.

"It was a little frustrating when you come in here and lose this many times," Boll said. "We were sick of it."

Antoine Vermette got the Columbus rally started with a first-period goal.

"It seems like we're more effective when we tend to be more physical," Vermette said.

Columbus scored three goals in the third period, including two in the final 3:28. Andrew Murray broke a 2-2 tie by deflecting in a shot from the blue line by Jan Hedja at 3:40. It was his third goal of the season and first since Dec. 27. Nash added a power-play score at 16:32 to give him a team-leading 22 goals this season. Tyutin scored an empty netter at 18:30.

"I thought we managed the game pretty well," Columbus coach Scott Arniel said. "We just kept going and really took over in the second period. It carried through the rest of the game. A real strong 60 minutes."

Columbus, which beat Florida 3-2 on Wednesday, won back-to-back road games for the first time since Nov. 19 and 20.

"We're starting to play better, to get things going," Nash said. "To come in here and get two points against a team we're going to battle for a playoff spot -- that's huge."

Eric Brewer and Patrik Berglund scored in a span of 1:23 in the first period to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead. Alex Steen assisted on both goals, giving him a career-best seven-game point streak. Berglund's goal was his 11th of the season and third in as many games.

Vermette and Boll then answered for Columbus. Boll scored his fifth goal of the season on a breakaway in the second period.

Columbus outshot St. Louis 14-5 in the second period. The Blues' first shot came 12:12 into the period.