Jackets Chase The Blues Away
In 3-2 Win
By Steve Sirk,  Columbus Wired (11/20/02)

“One minute of play remaining in the period.”

Eight simple words, but oh how they tax the heart.

When the PA booms this one-minute warning, you know it’s time to cue up some of that late-game magic. Unfortunately for the Blue Jackets this year, more often than not that magic seems to come in the form of some evil voodoo curse that undoubtedly involves the bloody sacrifice of newborn kittens as a power source for its unrelenting agony. Or something.

But tonight the good guys worked a little magic of their own, as the Blue Jackets got a goal from David Vyborny with 47.7 seconds remaining to defeat the first-place St. Louis Blues 3-2 in front of a sellout crowd at Nationwide Arena.

The game got off to a not-so-promising start when an unmarked Pavel Demitra knocked home the rebound of a Tyler Nash shot to make it 1-0 at…umm…the 16 second mark of the opening period. Giving up a goal in less time than it takes to hang up on a telemarketer was clearly not what the Jackets wanted to do. Or was it? St. Louis entered tonight’s game with a record of 7-1-0 when their opponent has scored the first goal. So what the heck, go ahead and spot ‘em one.

From there, the first period was not lacking in action, but it was certainly bereft of shots on goal. Rick Nash, Jody Shelley and Hannes Hyvonen all delivered thunderous crowd-pleasing checks. For St. Louis, an Al MacInnis slapshot redirected off the post. Each team’s power play got some ice time. And yet, with 5:18 to play in the period, the shots were 3-2 in favor of the Blues and the game had gone over six minutes without a shot on goal.

The Blue Jackets third shot of the period came with 4:09 left and it lit the lamp. On the power play, Rostislav Klesla held the puck in at the left point. He snapped a pass down low to Nash who was just off to the side (and behind) the net. Nash, apparently hoping to play for the Columbus Crew, kicked the puck right out in front to Mike Sillinger who lifted a backhand over St. Louis goalie Tom Barrasso.

Nash brought the crowd to its feet three and a half minutes into the second period when he powered right up the gut of the St. Louis defense and unleashed a shot that clanged off the crossbar. The Blues answered by hitting a crossbar at the other end of the ice twenty seconds later. Nash’s shot was reviewed during the next stoppage in play, but the videotape confirmed the ref’s original judgement that the puck hit the crossbar and did not cross the goal line.

At 3:54 of the third period, the Jackets would finally get that lead thanks to their second power play tally of the game. Grant Marshall redirected a Whitney chest-high slapper from the right point to make it 2-1.

(It is worth noting that in addition to the two power play goals, the penalty kill not only staved off six St. Louis power plays, but they also held the Blues to ONE shot on goal in those six power plays!)

As the game wore down, the crowd got tense. The Jackets nearly made it 3-1 with 9:00 to go when Scott Lachance fed Andrew Cassels directly in front of the net, but Barrasso stoned the CBJ center from point-blank range.

The save looked huge when St. Louis equalized at the 13:20. Al MacInnis, whose legendary slapshot is enough to make grown hockey players soil themselves, vaporized a shot from the right circle that would have perforated Marc Denis had he actually been in the way of it.

With the score tied at 2-2, and another third period lead gone, and the clock ticking down toward crunch time, the Jackets knew that they could not afford to piddle away precious points, as has become their frustrating custom of late.

With a minute and a half to go, coach Dave King decided to use his timeout to rally his battle-scarred troops.

“We’ve given up leads by trying to sit back on our heels,” said Whitney. “Finally we were of the opinion that if we were going to lose, let’s lose by trying to win, not by playing not to lose. When teams play not to lose, that’s usually when they do lose.”

Or we can let the coach explain it in a manner that is easier to follow.

“I told the players to play our game,” said King. “I said to keep forechecking and to play our style. Let’s win it in regulation and not sit back for overtime. And most of all, I told them to enjoy themselves. Playing in close games should be fun.”

Well it’s certainly fun if you score with 48 seconds left and win, that’s for sure. The Jackets did just that, thanks in large part to the coach’s advice. Solid forechecking by Sillinger forced a sloppy clearance attempt by the Blues. Whitney picked it off at the blue line and charged up the ice, just to the left of the goal. The captain handled it…and handled it…and handled it…and the dished it off to David Vyborny in the slot who one-timed a shot into the upper left corner of the goal as he was in the process of being demolished by Martin Rucinsky.

“Sillinger and Whitney did some great forechecking for me,” said Vyborny. “Whitney passed me the puck and I tried to shoot toward the net. I never even saw the goal.”

“The winning goal was an example of how we weren’t sitting back,” said King. “We were taking the game to them and trying to force the issue. We wanted to score that winning goal in regulation and not wait for overtime. I like that attitude change.”

King also liked the fact that the overly unselfish Vyborny decided to shoot the puck.

“Gosh,” King said with a smile, “I’m glad David didn’t have anyone to pass to so he could shoot the puck and win the game for us.”