Wright Thinks Little On Way to Great Game
By Greg Dew  Columbus Wired (3/20/03)

The Columbus Blue Jackets staked the “Original Six” Toronto Maple Leafs a 2-0 lead Thursday night before storming back on Tyler Wright’s hat trick to win the game 4-3 in the waning seconds of overtime to put a damper in the Toronto’s first ever visit to Nationwide Arena.

“We had a two goal lead tonight and we gave it up because of penalty situations,” said Toronto head coach Pat Quinn. “I think they’re having trouble figuring out where the line is,” continued Quinn when discussing his team’s problems with penalties.

One man who had no problem figuring out where the line is was Blue Jackets center Tyler Wright. Not the figurative penalty line, but the goal line at the back of the Leafs crease. Well, maybe not Wright himself, but the puck off of his stick found and breached the goal line a total of three times for his second hat trick of the season.

“If Tyler Wright wouldn’t have scored a goal, he would have still had a great game,” said Blue Jackets Interim Head Coach Doug McLean.

Wright’s great game was enhanced by the three goals he was able to score.

The first was early in the second period. Wright intercepted a pass from Jyrki Lumme and beat Leafs goaltender Trevor Kidd. The goal helped set the message the Blue Jackets were not going to roll over and succumb to a Stanley Cup contender.

“Even when we were down 2-0, we were convincing ourselves that we were playing really well 5 on 5,” said McLean.

The Blue Jackets were able to extend their quality play from even strength to the power play. Wright’s second goal was scored on an assist from Rostislav Klesla and Derrick Walser to put the Jackets up 3-2. The goal, which tied the game at 2-2, was also scored on the power play.

Rookie left wing Rick Nash camped himself to the left of Kidd during a 5-on-3 power play. A shot from Geoff Sanderson ricocheted off of Kidd’s pads directly to Nash who calmly pounded the puck into the back of the net.

It appeared Wright and Nash’s heroics would hold until Owen Nolan scored on the power play, set up by a questionable Wright penalty, with less than 2 minutes to go in the game.

Wright would get his revenge in overtime with even less time to spare when he carried the puck over the blue line, dropped the puck to Ray Whitney then took a return pass and beat Kidd to give the Jackets the victory and give himself his second hat trick of the season.

“It was one of those shots when you try not to think,” said Wright. “When I don’t think I play at my best.”