Another Fantastic Finish: Jackets Top Preds, 4-3
By Steve Sirk

One night after stunning the Minnesota Wild, the Columbus Blue Jackets overcame a nightmarish second period to earn a 4-3 comeback victory over the Nashville Predators. Given that the Predators thrashed the Jackets 7-2 a week ago, there is obviously something to this newfound Nationwide Mojo. At home, the Jackets have won four straight, eight of nine, and 10 of 14. And they’ve been doing it in style….unprecedented style. They’ve been winning with goal-scoring binges and comeback victories—two things that have been absent in the franchise’s short history.

The Blue Jackets jumped out to a 2-0 leads on goals by David Vyborny and Rick Nash. At 8:43, Vyborny was in the process of spinning around in the slot when Jan Hrdina’s centering pass redirected off of his skate blade and into the net. Toronto took a peek at the replay and confirmed it was a goal. Barely four minutes later, Nash got a slow-motion back-door tap-in on a blistering pass from Sergei Fedorov. Along the right half-wall, Fedorov sent a screamer to Nash at the back post, who seemingly almost had the stick knocked out of his hands by the force of the puck. But the impact of the pass on the blade was enough to scoot the puck over the line for a power play score.

Then things got weird. The Jackets entered self-destruct mode and spent the better part of a period killing penalties. Spanning from the final minutes of the first period until midway through the second, Columbus was whistled for six straight penalties, including one double-minor. The results were disastrous.

At 15:38 of the first, Scott Hartnell halved the deficit with a power play goal. At 5:04 of the second period, Adam Hall converted a one-timer from the slot to tie the game. Not even four minutes later, Yannic Perraulkt roofed a wrister from the slot to give the Preds a 3-2 lead, with all three goals coming on the power play.

“We weren’t happy,” said Jackets coach Gerard Gallant. “That was a tough stretch because it took all of our momentum away.”

But the Jackets would steal momentum away from Nashville late in the second period. Facing yet another penalty kill, Columbus knotted the game when defenseman Duvie Westcott scored a short-handed goal on an innocent looking shot. After Trevor Letowski gained the offensive zone, he dropped the puck to Westcott, whose shot went through the legs of Nashville defenseman Kimo Timonen and befuddled a screened Tomas Vokoun in goal.

“I just tried to shoot it through Timonen’s legs,” said Westcott. “I didn’t even see where it was going to go. It went through a screen and I don’t think Vokoun even saw it. It was a lucky goal, but I’ll take it.”

Vokoun was obviously disappointed. “When his shot came off the stick, there was no chance,” he said. “It was a fluky goal.” Whether it was lucky or fluky, what cannot be debated is that the goal was important.

“When you give up nine power plays and three power play goals, you need a shorthanded goal,” said Gallant. “That was a huge goal for us at the right time.”

The Jackets had weathered the storm. Six straight penalties, three power-play goals allowed...but when Westcott lit the lamp, the Jackets had survived the worst, and were alive and well heading into the third period.

“The key was we didn’t get rattled during that second period,” said Luke Richardson. “We kept our composure and took the momentum right back from them.“

“Heading into the third period, we had the confidence,” added goaltender Marc Denis. “There was an aura about this game, just as there has been in a lot of games recently. We just knew that we were going to hold them off and bury our chance. It was great to sit back and watch the show. Those guys are making my life easy.”

After watching Minnesota wilt in the third period of a back-to-back affair, the Jackets did the opposite, holding Nashville to just seven shots in the deciding frame. “That’s solid,” said Westcott. “That just shows that guys are playing to win.”

And win they did. With 1:23 to play, Nash bulled through Dan Hamhuis behind the net and found Vyborny between the circles. His snapshot hit the roof of the net, beating Vokoun high to the stick side. 18,136 fans went berserk.

But the game was not over, and what happened next got more play in the locker room than the winning goal itself. Led by Letowksi and Fedorov, the Jackets snuffed out the Preds’ high-powered sixth-attacker onslaught, holding them without a single shot.

“Fedorov and Letowski put on a clinic out there,” said an appreciate Denis. “When a high-powered team like Nashville pulls the goalie and puts six skaters on the ice, it’s a real testament that they didn’t get a shot. Those two guys forechecked and kept the pressure on them.”

“Sergei had the fire in his eyes,” added Richardson. “They didn’t even get a shot with the sixth attacker. He chased them down and turned the tables on them.”

When the final horn sounded, Denis pumped both fists in the air and jumped up and down. After Friday’s victory over Minnesota, the players deemed it as “good,” but said it was more important to beat the Predators on Saturday. After some lopsided games in Nashville, this one was important. They wanted it, they worked for it, and they got it.

“Nashville is a very tough to play in their building, but it’s different here,” said Rostislav Klesla. “We may not beat them by five goals, but if we win by a goal, I will take it.”


NOTES:

* Westcott’s goal was the 5th short-handed goal Columbus has scored against Nashville this year. The 5 shorties in a single-season head-to-head series is tied for 4th-most in NHL history. Then Edmonton Oilers set the record in the 1982-83 season, when they scored 10 shorties against the Winnipeg Jets. In addition to Westcott, the Preds have yielded shorthanded goals to Adam Foote, Jan Hrdina, Jason Chimera and Letwoski.

* Klesla set a career high with 3 points on 3 assists. Sitting at his locker, as fresh blood still dripped from under his black eye, he seemed much happier about the scrappy victory than the assist mark.

“I had the second assist on all of them,” he said with a shrug. “I just made the first pass and then the guys took it from there and made the goals. I will take those assists though. It feels good, but the victory over Nashville feels a lot better.”

* Nashville center Yannic Perrault had a goal disallowed with four seconds to play in the first period. Perrault appeared to successfully bunt a high shot from the point into the net. In fact, he bunted better than most of the Cleveland Indians. However, the goal was overturned, evidently because it was deemed that the puck hit his hand, not the blade of his stick.

“I’m surprised they called that one back,” said Perrault. “At first I thought they were going to see if it was a high stick (above the net). I didn’t know that it was close to my glove. I think when you call it off, you have to be sure it was illegal, so I was surprised they called that one off.”

* Back-to-back games can wear a player down. It can also create a choking hazard. Here’s a story from Duvie Westcott:

“Back-to-back games are tough, especially when they are hard-fought games like these two. I was eating power bars on the bench between shifts so I could find my legs. One time I had just put a power bar in my mouth when they told me I was up, so I hopped over the boards and my power bar was dripping all over the place.”

* And last but not least, the players spoke in glowing terms of the fan support during the recent homestand. Cheers are a renewable source of energy, and Richardson, Klesla and others spoke of the importance of the crowd in the Nashville game.

“When you take that many penalties, it’s tough on your penalty killers,” said Letowski. “I was exhausted, but when you hear the home fans screaming, it makes you feel as fresh as a daisy.”













Photo Credit:  File Photo - Dave Weissman