Blue Jackets Prove Capable Against Avalanche
By Greg Dew,  Columbus Wired (1/28/02)

If you were to watch a toddler as they learn to walk, you will notice every step seems to be a grandiose event. They lift their leg high into the air like a giant sumo wrestler, pause for dramatic effect then slam the digit down in front to begin a small move forward.

Tuesday night’s Columbus Blue Jacket game against the Colorado Avalanche was much the same.

Entering last nights game against the Avalanche, the Jackets had never defeated the perennial cup contenders in ten tries, hadn’t even earned a point.

Well last night in a hard fought battle, the Blue Jackets fought and scratched their way to a 2-2 tie in front of another sellout crowd of 18,136 at Nationwide Arena.


“It was a war out there,” said Interim Head Coach Doug MacLean. “It was a battlefield down at ice level.”

They made a statement and earned their first point against a difficult opponent.

“I think I might be the only guy still here from the ten losses, so I’m the only consistent force there and I remember all of them too,” he said.

The opening shots on the battlefield came from Luke Richardson.

Despite only being a member of the Jackets for two of the losses, Richardson seemed to take the frustration of all ten franchises losses against the Avalanche and unloaded on Milan Hejduk near center ice during the opening minutes of the game, bringing the sellout crowd to their feet.

Gaining inspiration from the hit and the home crowd, Marc Denis once again turned in a stellar game between the pipes for the Jackets. Turning away thirty-four of thirty-six shots in the game, the Blue Jackets goaltender kept the game close and more than held his own against one-time mentor Patrick Roy.

"They definitely embarrassed us in their own building (last week), so it's kind of nice to try and get back at them," said Denis, Roy's former backup. "We played toe-to-toe with them tonight.”

Roy, of course, is the veteran of over 1,000 NHL games (1,002). He has won the Stanley Cup four times and entered last night’s game with a shutout streak of 160:24. If an aura exists around Colorado, it emanates from this man’s goal crease.

That aura rose above the chaos on the ice throughout the first period and through half of the second. With Colorado protecting a 1-0 lead courtesy of Adam Foote, the Blue Jackets emphatically ended the shutout streak two seconds before it would have been a personal best for Roy.

Lasse Pirjeta took a cross-ice feed from David Vyborny and beat Roy over his left shoulder with a quick wrist shot.

A franchise record 17 seconds later, Grant Marshall sent the puck through the crease, had it glance off Roy and into the net for a 2-1 Blue Jackets lead.

“It was a lucky goal, but I’ll take it,” said Marshall.

“I was not pleased on the way I played that second goal,” said Roy. “I had my paddle down, something I rarely do and the puck ended up in my net.”

The Jackets seemed to have their leg high in the air and ready to take a very large step forward, but the Avalanche had other ideas.

Alex Tanguay gathered a loose puck near the left dot in front of Denis’ crease and shot at an odd angle. The shot soared over Denis’ left shoulder to tie the game at 2-2 early in the 3rd period and provide the final score of the hockey game as they skated to an overtime tie.

Being able to go toe to toe with the Avalanche certainly was a statement for the Blue Jackets and a cause for celebration.

“To come back from a tough game where we didn’t have a lot of juice in Colorado to really play them head to head and hard was fun to watch,” said MacLean.



Our Stars of the Game:

First Star: Luke Richardson. He set the tone of the game with his initial hit and maintained that physicality throughout the game. He may not have had points to show for his effort but he led the way and showed the Avalanche the Blue Jackets were not going to back down.

Second Star: Marc Denis. He made 34 saves in all and gave the team an opportunity to battle toe to toe throughout the game.

Third Star: Alex Tanguay. He had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche and provided the reminder that the Blue Jackets are still taking small and not large steps forward.