COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice watched on television Friday as the Columbus Blue Jackets skated hard, expended plenty of energy and lost 3-1 to the Washington Capitals in Washington, D.C., on Friday.

Then, as the Blue Jackets were flying home late Friday, Maurice tucked into his Columbus hotel room with a plan in mind for Saturday's game in Nationwide Arena.

"That's one of the toughest things in this league, to come out of Washington and fly home for a back-to-back," Maurice said. "They spent a lot of energy, and that was to our benefit."

A three-goal first period destroyed the home debut of Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella and sent the Winnipeg Jets to a 3-2 win.

Right winger Blake Wheeler and center Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist for the Jets, while center Andrew Copp scored the first goal of his NHL career.

Copp, from Ann Arbor, Mich., a three-hour drive from Columbus, had family in the crowd.

"It's a great place for me to do it with my parents, my grandparents and a couple of buddies here, too," Copp said.

Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec had an easy night, needing only 19 saves, 10 in the second period, for the victory.

The Blue Jackets, off to the worst start in franchise history at 2-10-0, got a first-period goal from left wing Brandon Saad and a late third-period goal from left wing Scott Hartnell.

Hartnell's goal came with an extra attacker on the ice with only 1:14 to play, but the Blue Jackets couldn't force a tie.

Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled during the first intermission after allowing three goals on 11 shots on goal in the first period.

He was replaced by Curtis McElhinney for the final two periods. McElhinney stopped all 16 shots he faced.

"I thought it was a struggle for us all night long in every facet," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "Let's just be honest. It was a struggle for us."

The Jets took a 1-0 lead only 5:52 into the game, when Little skated wide of Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray and beat Bobrovsky with a slap shot from the right circle.

The lead grew to 2-0 less than a minute later.

Copp, playing in his 12th career NHL game, scored just moments after a Jets faceoff win. Defenseman Tyler Myers sent the puck in off the end boards and Copp lifted it over Bobrovsky before he could cover.

The Blue Jackets pulled to 2-1 at 10:32, when Saad redirected a centering feed from center Brandon Dubinsky.

But the Jets regained a two-goal advantage before the period was over, however.

At 16:59, the Jets converted a power-play goal when Little set up Wheeler for his sixth goal of the season.

Wheeler's shot from the left circle sailed between Bobrovsky's glove and his left pad, scoring inside the far corner.

That spelled the end for Bobrovsky, who won the NHL's Vezina Trophy (best goaltender) in 2013 but has struggled with inconsistency ever since.

The Blue Jackets were granted a four-minute power play midway through the third when Jets defenseman Mark Stuart was whistled for high-sticking Saad.

But the Jackets generated only one shot on goal during the four minutes.

"I liked how we played with the lead," Maurice said. "I would have liked a few more pucks to the net, but we did a great job killing the four-minute penalty.

"Even at 3-2, we were engaged on the bench. There's growth in that, and confidence."

The push came in the closing seconds with McElhinney pulled for an extra skater.

But it was too late.

"I know it's in them," Tortorella said, of the Blue Jackets' offensive struggles. I know they're better players offensively."

The Jets improved to 4-1 on the road.

The Blue Jackets, who lost 3-1 in Washington on Friday, had hoped to give Tortorella a proper welcome in Nationwide Arena.

He joined the Blue Jackets after Todd Richards was fired on Oct. 21 following a 0-7-0 start.

The Blue Jackets are 2-3-0 under Tortorella.

NOTES: Veteran D Fedor Tyutin was a healthy scratch for a second straight game, a surprising move by Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella on two levels. Tyutin, 31, is the Blue Jackets' highest-paid defenseman, making $5 million this season. Also, before Friday'sgame in Washington, he hadn't been scratched since Dec. 6, 2010. ... Giving up the first goal is usually a kiss of death in the NHL. But heading into last night's game, Winnipeg had fallen behind 1-0 in eight of 10 games. The Jets were 5-2-1 in those games. ... Blue Jackets RW Jared Boll, a healthy scratch in the last seven games, went back into the lineup, making his first appearance since Tortorella was hired.