OT Pays Well: Jackets Depose Kings, 3-2, On Cechmanek Blunder

By Steve Sirk

The Blue Jackets have been leading a charmed life of late in overtime. Under Gerard Gallant, the Jackets are now 4-0-4 in the extra session, with the last two home games bordering on the bizarre. Against Minnesota, the Jackets were dominated in the extra session before getting a rare goal out of Anders Eriksson, whose shot deflected in off of a defenseman’s shin. Some might call it a fluke, but tonight the Jackets opted for flukier.

After being bunkered in for nearly two solid minutes to open overtime, the Jackets defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 when a simple forecheck by David Vyborny produced one of the strangest finishes in the Jackets’ short history. LA goaltender Roman Cechmanek left his crease to play the puck behind his net. When it comes to stickhandling, Cechmanek isn’t exactly Nikolai Zherdev. Or even Luke Richardson for that matter. Vyborny stole the puck and tucked it into the empty net for a baffling, yet exciting, end to the evening.

“I don’t know what Cechmanek was thinking,” said Columbus all-star Rick Nash. “David used good patience before tucking it in.”

“Cechmanek tried to fake me,” said Vyborny, a close friend and teammate from the Czech national team. “I tried jumping on him and he put the puck right on my stick. I tried to use the net (as a shield) and then I put it in the net.”

Despite the happy ending, the game did not get off to a promising start for the Jackets, who had to knock a week’s worth of rust off of their skates. It took until midway through the opening period for the Jackets to muster their first shot on goal, and by that time they were trailing 1-0. At 4:51, LA’s Alexander Frolov converted an unmolested wrap-around jam.

“We didn’t get off to the start we wanted,” said Jackets goalie Marc Denis. “The first ten minutes were awful. Fortunately we came out with just a one-goal deficit.”

The final ten minutes of the period were a different story, as the Jackets found their legs and took the game to the Kings, putting 14 shots on frame.

Columbus tied the score just 35 seconds into the second period, converting on a carryover power play. Jaroslav Spacek scored his first of the year, roofing a hot cross-ice feed from Nash.

At 8:27, the Jackets took a 2-1 lead when rookie defenseman Aaron Johnson scored the first goal of his NHL career. Zherdev carried the puck into the zone on the left side and circled all the way around the net to the right half-boards. From there, he picked out an encroaching Johnson and zipped a pass through a maze of sticks. Johnson’s shot beat Cechmanek five-hole.

“I was just trying to get open,” said Johnson. “I didn’t even expect the pass the way he was circling. It was pretty easy after Nikolai put that pass through three guys. I kinda fanned on it, but it went between his legs. It felt good to get that first goal.”

The Jackets seemed to have the game in hand, but all it took was one breakdown in the defensive third to level the score. At 9:54, Joseph Corvo eluded the mark of Nash and roofed a one-timer from the slot off a pass from Eric Belanger.

There were some thrilling moments as regulation wound down. Zherdev went coast-to-coast on a rush, abusing Kings defenseman Jason Holland in the process. (Think coyote and roadrunner.) With five seconds to play, Manny Malhotra checked Kings winger Ian Laperriere through the bench door. Both events lifted the crowd to its feet, but in the end it looked like another point squandered.

Then came overtime. The Kings dominated.

“In the overtime, we were determined,” said Kings coach Andy Murray. “We had two or three really good scoring chances the first couple of shifts.”

But it was all for naught when Cechmanek made his ill-fated play.

“Who said goalies shouldn’t play the puck behind the goal?” asked Denis, regarding the proposed NHL rule changes next year. “I thought that was pretty exciting tonight! But seriously, I felt bad for him because I’m not a good stickhandler myself.”