Sharks Feast on Jackets 3-0.
By Dave Seaman, Columbus Wired

The Columbus Blue Jackets lost their fourth straight game Monday night, falling 3-0 to the San Jose Sharks in front of 16,067 in Nationwide Arena.

Like the previous loss in Pittsburgh Saturday, the Jackets gave up a power play goal inside the first three minutes of the game. To top that, they gave up a second power play goal minutes into the second period.

Game over.

“We took bad penalties at bad times,” Jackets coach Gerard Gallant said. “They scored early in the game but I thought we came back. We come out and take a penalty in the second, they score and the game is over because we didn’t battle back.”

The Sharks’ Steve Bernier and Jonathan Cheechoo scored the power play goals and Marcel Goc added an even-strength goal. Vesa Toskala won his 12th straight and recorded the fifth shutout of his career.

The Jackets mustered only 23 shots on goal, with 10 coming in the third period when it was too little, too late. Nine of the shots came from Columbus defenseman. Rick Nash had a mere two shots on goal, while Nikolai Zherdev had none. Both skated with the puck a lot and at times it seemed like they were trying too much.

“From what I see on the bench, one guy is trying to beat two guys all the time and our other guys are not available for the pass,” said a frustrated Gallant. “They are not working hard enough to get across the ice and force a play. You have to work as a five-man unit. You can’t work as a one or two guys.”

The team looked to a returning Sergei Fedorov for a spark as he played in his first game of the regular season after suffering a preseason shoulder injury.  He centered a line with Zherdev and Fredrik Modin. He was also a factor on the Jackets’ special teams.

“I was excited out there,” Fedorov said. “I’m glad I had a chance to get out on the ice. I had heavy legs in the first, but I felt much better in the second and third periods.”

With Jason Chimera in the penalty box for holding, Bernier flipped a loose puck into an empty net. Pascal Leclaire came out of the crease to block a Matt Carle shot, but the puck came loose and right to Bernier. It was the third shot on goal in the sequence with Leclaire stopping Milan Michalek’s initial shot.

The Sharks scored again on the power play goal 3:15 into the second period when Cheechoo hit a slap shot just inside the back post. Less than two minutes later, Goc tapped in a rebound off a Marc-Edouard Vlasic shot from the high point to give San Jose a 3-0 lead. It was Goc’s first of the season.

The highlight of the third period was a heavyweight fight between the Jackets’ Loe-Kristian Tollefsen and the Sharks’ Mark Smith, won easily by Tollefsen by a knockdown.

“It doesn’t matter who we are playing right now —it’s in our heads,” Jackets captain Adam Foote said. “We’re trying to do too much. We’re trying to play a physical game and we’re taking bad penalties. It’s hard on the guys and we have to come out of it. We have to play smarter. It’s nobody’s fault but ours in here as a team."

Late in the game, Alexandre Picard, who was making his season debut, was hit into the boards by Christian Ehrhoff and was helped to the locker room.   Gallant said he didn’t have a report on his condition other than Picard was sore.

Leclaire ended the game with 29 saves.

Columbus looks to end the losing streak Friday when it hosts Los Angeles at 7 p.m.