Jackets lose second time in a week to Detroit
By Dave Seaman, Columbus Wired  Photos By Tom Theodore

So goes the second three-game series.

After “winning” the first series, the Columbus Blue Jackets got swept in the second series 2-0 after falling for the second straight game to Detroit, 4-1, in front of 17,681 at Nationwide Arena Saturday night.

Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock had broken the team’s final 12 games into four three-game series and said the team had to take two of three of each to have a chance at the playoffs. It didn’t help that the Jackets and Red Wings played three times in six days.

“When you play a team three times (in a week), it’s psychological—it’s believing you can beat a team,” Hitchcock said. “I think what happened in the third period (Wednesday in a 3-1 loss), had a residue effect today. We had one guy who started to dig us back.”

Hitchcock said for the team to have a chance at the playoffs with seven games remaining, they must win out. In the final seven, the Jackets face Nashville, Chicago and St. Louis each twice and the Red Wings one more time.

Pavel Datsyuk led the Red Wings with a goal and two assists. Nicklas Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen also scored for Detroit, who won for the 50th time this season. It’s the team’s third straight 50-win season and fifth overall.

Rick Nash carried play for Columbus and scored the team’s only goal. Nash has scored in every game since being named the team’s captain Mar. 12.

“Our captain tried to carry us on his back and he didn’t have enough people going with him,” Hitchcock opened his post game comments with. “He tried to win the game by himself. Even at 2-1, he didn’t have enough people playing their best—that’s what we have to do to beat Detroit.”

In the first, the Wings took advantage several Columbus penalties, scoring twice with the man advantage.

Lidstrom made it 1-0 with the Wings on a two-man advantage. Pavel Datsyuk took a shot that Jackets goaltender Fredrik Norrena sprawled to save. The rebound found Lidstrom open iat the right point and he hit a slap shot into the empty net at 6:02.

Zetterberg scored minutes later with Nash in the penalty box when he took a pass from Datsyuk and beat Norrena glove side to make it 2-0.

“The first period was brutal,” Nash said. “We’re not playing as desperate as we should be. We have to realize that we are still in a race.”

After a scoreless second, Nash got the Jackets to within a goal 43 seconds in the third when he took a pass from Fredrik Modin and hit a wrist shot from 31-feet.

The Wings got the goal back at 12:52 when Franzen redirected a Chris Chelios shot. Datsyuk scored a shorthanded goal off a Jackets turnover at 14:37 for the final tally.

The Blue Jackets ended the game 0-for-5 on the power play and got outshot 21-12. Norrena had 17 saves. Detroit goaltender Dominik Hasek had 11. The 12 shots on goal is a franchise low on home ice.

Columbus plays in Nashville on Tuesday, and then hosts Chicago Wednesday night at 7 p.m.