Jackets lose 2-1, playoff hopes on life support
By Dave Seaman, Columbus Wired   Photos By Tom Theodore

As if their playoff hopes were hanging on by a thread, the Columbus Blue Jackets postseason aspirations took yet another serious hit Friday night in front of about 8,000 in Nationwide Arena.

The Jackets fell to the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in overtime in a game that the visitors had wrapped up until the final possible second.

Dan Fritsche scored with .08 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime, but Andrew Cogliano broke the time one minute, 53 second into overtime to lift the Oilers to a second win over the Jackets in a week.

The game-winner came off a Fritsche turnover in the neutral zone and went between the legs of Jackets goaltender Pascal Leclaire.

For the fourth straight game, the Jackets dominated play, but like the previous two, could not find the back of the net. Columbus outshot Edmonton 31-17, but could not figure out Oilers goalie Mathieu Garon.

“We just have to concentrate more on putting the puck on the net and scoring,” Fritsche said. “We’re just having trouble scoring. We’ve got to get out power play going and we have to play smart and hard for 60 minutes, that’s all.”

With the loss, Columbus falls seven points out of the final playoff spot. While not mathematically eliminated, the chances of the team continuing play after April 6 are slim at best. The Jackets have 13 games remaining, including eight at home.

Edmonton’s Fernando Pisani scored a power play goal midway through the second period and it looked as if it were to stand up until the final second of the game.

The Jackets continued to not only score five-on-five, but went 0-for-4 on the power play. The team has not scored with the man advantage in 31 tries. Columbus remains the worst offensive team in the National Hockey League.

“When you have to wait until the 59th minute to score, it’s not enough,” Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. “You’re not going to win a lot of games scoring one goal. We have to manufacture goals. We’re in the hunt because we check, we work, but we’ve had timely goals all year. Now, we’re not getting that – we have people in droughts offensively and we’re not getting timely goals even though we’re creating chances.”

Leclaire had 15 saves and has not won in a game in regulation since Feb. 23 in Montreal. Garon had 30 saves for the Oilers, who won for the fifth time in six games.

The Jackets continue the five-game home stand Sunday by hosting Tampa Bay Sunday at 3 p.m.