Chimmy Chimes In, Jackets Drop Sharks
By Steve Sirk

First impressions are important. After their introduction tonight, consider Jason Chimera and the city of Columbus impressed with one another. In his first home game since being acquired from the Phoenix Coyotes, Chimera scored two highlight reel goals to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks. The fan response left Chimera smiling.

“I played three years in Edmonton,” he said, “and tonight reminded me a lot of that. The fans are great and it’s a great hockey city.”

Of course, the fans had a lot to cheer about. There is a lot to be said for ugly goals, but the Blue Jackets scored four jaw-droppers.

The first occurred at 13:19 of the first period, when David Vyborny put on a breathtaking skating display. Carrying the puck up the right wing, he blew past defensemen Brad Stuart, who tried to hook the Czech, but lost his stick in the process. Vyborny, with the extra stick momentarily wedge in his armpit, then skated around defenseman Jim Fahey while cutting across the slot. Unhurried, Vyborny held the puck as he went to the left post, lifting a shot over the prone and defenseless goaltender, Evgeni Nabokov.

As the crowd erupted, Vyborny put his hand to his hear-- a rare display of emotion from the stoic Vyborny. “Vyborny’s goal was huge,” said coach Gerard Gallant. “He’s a good two-way player for us, and that’s why he wears the A on his sweater, but it was nice to see him get a goal.”

The Jackets once again struggled with penalties in the first period, but came out none the worse for wear. However, the Sharks leveled the score on a Scott Thornton power play tally just 1:28 into the second period. Temporarily unnerved, the Jackets lost their flow, only to regain it as the period wore on.

This was bad news for Sharks back-up goaltender Vesa Toskala, who was pressed into action mid-way through the period when Nobokov was injured in a collision with his own player while saving Nikolai Zherdev breakaway.

At 15:59, Toskala faced a breakaway of his own, but he could not come up with the save. Manny Malhotra won a face-off at the Jackets blue line, and in the blink of an eye, Chimera was off to the races, where he buried a 25-foot slapper high to the glove side.

“That was a set play,” said Chimera. “Manny pushed it through there and then I took a shot to the top corner. I can honestly say that I picked out that top corner. Luckily, the shot went where I wanted it to.”

“That’s a smart play by Manny Malhotra,” said Gallant. “He saw their D-men lined up along the boards, and he knew Chimera has speed. Jason jumped by their winger and he had a breakaway. It was a play where the centerman read the play very well.”

The goal that sealed the game came in the period’s final second. With 3.2 seconds to play, Jan Hrdina won a faceoff in the right circle. The puck dropped to Bryan Berard, who squared it to Adam Foote, located 50 feet out and dead center. His slapshot tucked inside the left post with 0.4 seconds left on the clock.

“I thought we ran out of time there,” said Foote. “When the ref pointed, I was like, ‘Wow.’ It was a surprise, but I’ll take it.”

“That was huge for us,” said Gallant. “The guys came in and they were excited. That third goal was big-time for us.”

The game was never in doubt in the third. The Jackets played with a calm assurance, and refrained from taking stupid penalties. They outworked the Sharks and were comfortably winding down the clock.

And then it was Chimmy Time.

At 13:07, Chimera mirrored Vyborny’s goal. Taking a feed from Tyler Wright at center ice, Chimera barreled down the left wing, turned the corner, and then slid a backhand through Toskala’s pads.

“That’s what Jason Chimera is,” said Gallant. “He’s a fast skater, he works hard, and he can score a pretty goal like that one. He’s not going to score 50 goals, but he competes.”

For the 15,388 fans in attendance, it was love at first sight.