15th Time’s The Charm: Jackets Top Avs, 5-4, In Overtime Thriller
by Steve Sirk, Columbus Wired

In the annals of history, there are many tales of the plucky underdog defeating a seemingly invincible adversary. David toppled Goliath. Buster Douglas humbled Mike Tyson. Janet Jackson stole headlines from Michael.

But for every one of these improbable victories, there are countless failures in the face of long odds. For example, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana handily covered the spread at the Alamo.

Unlike Davey Crockett and Sam Houston, the Columbus Blue Jackets have been given repeat chances to defeat their invincible nemesis. After compiling a record of 0-13-1 (including a 61-16 goal differential) against the star-studded Colorado Avalanche, the Jackets were (over)due for a win. And like Susan Lucci finally conquering the Emmy voters, the Jackets defeated the Avs 5-4 on an overtime power play blast by defenseman Jaroslav Spacek. David Vyborny had a five-point night. Marc Denis stood on his head. A two-goal deficit was overcome. And now, at long last, the Colorado Curse is past tense. Do you believe in miracles?

“It was a long time coming,” said goaltender Marc Denis. “We’ve been beaten badly time and time again by this team.”

Oddly enough, the game started out looking like more of the same. The Avs took their customary multi-goal lead into the first intermission. At 13:04, Joe Sakic (who else?) scored on a wrist-shot (what else?) from the left circle (where else?). Ho-hum. At 16:36, John-Michael Liles smacked home the rebound from a Milan Hejduk shot to make it 2-0.

In any upset, there is usually a moment that serves as the underdog’s catalyst. In this case, it would come just over midway through the second period. During a wild scramble in front of the Columbus net, Manny Malhotra closed his hand over the puck while it was in the crease. By rule, the Avs were awarded a penalty shot. Having their pick of the players on the ice at the time, Colorado coach Tony Granato sent Paul Kariya, one of Coloardo’s many awe-inspiring offensive superstars, to take the one-on-one showdown with Denis. Another goal, and it’s over.

After a dramatic buildup, Denis repelled the shot with his right pad.

“I haven’t faced him too many times on breakaways,” said Denis. “I know he has a great wrist shot and is an excellent shooter. I just tried to get a read on his stick. He was trying to get it over my pad and didn’t get it high enough. I was fortunate in that sense.”

“I think the turning point in the game is when Marc Denis stopped the penalty shot,” said Jackets coach Gerard Gallant.

Columbus cashed in on their renewed hope when David Vyborny lit the lamp at 14:59. It was a power play goal, and it came in the unlikeliest of places. Vyborny, who is by no means a big man, got three whacks at a loose puck at the edge of the crease before knocking it home. There are many sizeable players who are seemingly better suited for battling in such a tough neighborhood. Rick Nash for instance.

“I was in the Nasher spot because I play on the second power play line with Todd Marchant and Geoff Sanderson,” said Vyborny. “It was a lucky goal.”

More like an important goal. With the crowd standing and adding their own lyrical interpretations to Gary Glitter’s “hey” song, the Jackets gave them no reason to take their seats. Just 25 seconds later, Geoff Sanderson scored a beauty. Vyborny flicked the puck high in the air and into the offensive zone. At full speed, a mile behind the defense, Sanderson bent down to catch the puck at his skate laces, immediately dropped it, and then beat Avs goalie Philippe Sauve low to the stick side. The crowd was delirious.

“It was an incredibly play by Veebsy,” said Sanderson. “He lob-wedged it over the defense and I caught it on the short-hop and had a breakaway. I was waiting for the whistle for offside, and I didn’t hear it. The crowd was so loud, I wouldn’t have heard it anyway, so I finished the play and it turns out it counted.”

With momentum clearly in Columbus’ favor, the last thing the Avs needed to do was, say, give the Jackets a full two minutes of 5-on-3 hockey. Nevertheless, at 17:53, Liles and Adam Foote were sent to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct and intereference respectively. Oops.

The Jackets took advantage, thanks to a heroic keep-in by Spacek. The Avs won the puck and defenseman Karlis Skrastins attempted to clear the zone. Spacek was the only Jacket manning the blue line, yet he was able to corral the fast and bouncing puck. He played to Vyborny at the right half boards, who played to Andrew Cassels at the bottom of the right circle. Cassels circled in toward the near post and just as it looked as though he was going to shoot, he flicked a backhand across the crease to Nikolai Zherdev, who scored his 7th goal of the campaign into an open net. But none of it would have happened had Spacek not held the puck in the zone.

“It’s tough with one guy on the blue line, so you have to read the game,” said Spacek. “The guys have to help you a lot, and I was lucky that the bounces bounced right to me. If you keep the puck alive, good things can happen.”

Thanks to a parade of Avs to the penalty box, the Jackets had their opportunities to build a two-goal advantage. They came close, with Nash hitting the woodwork and Sanderson nearly tipping one past Sauve.

The arena deflated a minute later when the Avs tied the score at 6:15 of the third period. Sakic received a puck to the left of the goal and had ample time and space to pick out any target he wanted. He chose Alex Tanguay, who easily converted from close range.

Like one of those yo-yo diets, the game seesawed between elation and despair. At 14:23, it was elation’s turn when Manny Malhotra scored his 11th goal of the season, one-timing a shot off of a give-and-go with defenseman Darrel Scoville on a 2-on-1 break. The break was started by Vyborny, who fed Malhotra on the rush.

“I was surprised to see their D get back,” said Malhotra. “I thought it was going to be a one-on-one. So I was very happy to see (Scovill) join the rush and make a great pass back to me.”

With the clock ticking down, and the crowd working into a frenzy of anticipation, the Avs predictably spoiled the atmosphere by scoring at 17:39. Milan Hejduk knotted it up by zipping a rebound into the upper reaches of the net after Rob Blake hit the crossbar.

The game went to overtime and it seemed as though the fans would have to take solace in a solitary point. (No small feat against the Avs, mind you.) Gerard Gallant and his players had other ideas. The plan was to throw caution to the wind and go for the win.

It almost resulted in a loss. With the entire team pinched into the offensive zone, the Avs sprung Sakic on an uncontested breakaway. How uncontested? Sakic crossed center ice before a single Jacket had crossed the blue line.

As Sakic closed in on Denis, the scoring ace went to his backhand. Denis flashed his glove. There was no rebound. The building shook with appreciation.

“I was hoping he’d trip over the red line, to be honest,” said Denis. “All in all, he’s probably the best breakaway player in the league. I know he has three shots he likes to go to—five-hole if he’s in close, high glove-side, or he takes it to his backhand. I tried to take those away and just hoped he didn’t find a new spot. That’s all I could hope for. I knew the ice was bad. It’s always chewed up in overtime. I tried to force him to go to his backhand in the hope the puck would bounce and roll up on him. Maybe it did, because although I won’t say he had me beaten, he did get around me a little bit.”

A little over a minute later, the Jackets got the final break they needed. Liles was called for obstruction-hooking, giving the Jackets a 4-on-3 power play for the remainder of the game. They needed only 21 seconds before Spacek converted at 3:24. The defenseman ripped a one-timer off of a Cassels feed, but the shot was blocked. Spacek let it rip a second time, and beat Sauve high to the glove side. Pandemonium ensued. The players poured over the bench like dry ice vapor. There were hugs and high-fives aplenty. Demons had been exorcized.

“We’re glad this day finally came,” said Sanderson, who has witnessed the Av-induced futility from the start.

Even the new guys felt the emotional catharsis.

“I didn’t even realize that Columbus had never beaten them until Gerard said it this morning,” said Todd Marchant, who is in his first year with the club. “I know what it’s like to go against a team that you haven’t been able to beat. For me in Edmonton, it was Dallas. We could never seem to beat them in the regular season. Tonight, everyone who was in this game, or even in this building, will come away with an experience that they will never forget for the rest of their careers. They’re going to say, ‘Remember when we were down 2-0 to the Colorado Avalanche and we came back and didn’t quit and didn’t give up?’ I think you can look around the dressing room and see 20 guys that were all contributing.”

Spacek, like most of the Europeans on the roster, has a flair for understatement. “I think it was huge for the fans and the franchise,” he said, “because we had a little monkey on our back.”

No matter how many bi-planes he may have swatted down from the top of the Empire State Building, even King Kong eventually fell to his death after being wounded on subsequent flybys. Maybe the 15th plane did him in.