Fedorov Arrives

By Dave Seaman, Columbus Wired

The Sergei Fedorov era began Wednesday night at Nationwide Arena just as the previous era ended. With a loss.

The lowly St. Louis Blues avenged a 3-1 loss a week ago and beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-0 in front of 15,802 Wednesday night. It was the first road win for the Blues of the season and it broke the team’s 11-game losing streak.
Rookies Lee Stempniak and Scott Young scored 4:30 apart in the third period.

It was the end of a whirlwind 24 hours for the Jackets, who saw Tyler Wright and Francois Beauchemin traded for Fedorov. Earlier in the day, the team placed center Todd Marchant on waivers effectively making him a free agent.

“It’s pretty tough when a good friend gets traded and is leaving the city,” Jackets coach Gerard Gallant said. “But the guys came out and for two periods played very well. Unfortunately, got behind in the third period, but they played hard.”

Fedorov instantly made the Jackets, losers of three straight, look better on both sides of the ice. On Columbus’ second penalty kill, he led a three-on-one rush that resulted on a shot on goal. He got a good look on goal on a two-on-one break with Adam Foote later in the first. He also took the puck, passed it to himself off the board and put a shot on Blues goaltender Curtis Sanford in the second period.

Fedorov played on a line with Nikolai Zherdev and David Vyborny. The trio had several scoring chances and combined for eight shots on goal.

“We cycled down low pretty well,” Fedorov said. “We seemed to find each other and I wish we could have that final touch to put the puck in the net. Honestly, I was not as sharp as I’d like to be.”

Fedorov was informed of the trade at 3 p.m. Pacific time (6 p.m. local) and was on a redeye six hours later. After missing a connecting flight, he made it to Columbus through Minneapolis at 12:45 p.m. Wednesday.

After a short nap, he passed his physical, met with the media and was on the ice for pregame skate 24 hours after getting the news. It is the first time in Fedorov’s career that he has been traded. He started his career in Detroit and signed as a free agent with Anaheim in the summer of 2003.

“I felt comfortable before the game,” Fedorov said. “I broke a sweat and felt fine. I knew I had to maintain short shifts and except for one shift in the second period, I was able to do that.”

Gallant said that he was impressed with the play Fedorov, whom he played with in his days in Detroit.

“He’s going to be an important factor for us from now on,” he said. “He looked pretty good tonight. He didn’t have much sleep and he still looked pretty good. He is a valuable player for us. He knows what it takes to play.”

Fedorov has scored 30 or more goals in four consecutive seasons and nine times in his career. He has an assist with Anaheim in five games this season.
Wednesday marked his third game back after suffering a groin injury early in the season.

After the four-game home stand, the Jackets head west to play at Dallas and Phoenix this weekend. The trip comes at a perfect time for Fedorov, who will get a chance to bond with his new teammates.

“That’s an important aspect of being the new guy,” Fedorov said. “I’ve got to make friends as fast as I can. It will help towards our goals on the ice.”

The team returns home to host Nashville Nov. 26.