Momentum lost in 2-1 loss to Wild
By Dave Weissman, Columbus Wired
Photos by Tom Theodore

The Columbus Blue Jackets, coming off an exciting 5-4 win over Colorado on Thursday, was not able to keep that momentum going in a 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild in front of 15,666 fans at Nationwide. It was the third game at home game for the Jackets in a stretch of 12 in the month of December.

"We reverted back to the form of the first two periods against Colorado and we didn't get away with it tonight, we got away with it against Colorado,” said Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock. “Tonight we played about 12 minutes of the way we have to play – that's what happens when you put skill ahead of work. We've been guilty of that for a couple of nights now and tonight it caught us."

Before the game, forward David Vyborny was honored by team owner John H. McConnell, team president Mike Priest and GM Scott Howson for his 500th game in a Blue Jackets uniform. He and Rostislov Klesla are the only remaining original Jackets.

Columbus goaltender Pascal Leclaire was back in net stopping 24 of 26 shots. His counterpart, Niklas Backstrom stopped 31 shots on goal, including 14 in the third period.

This was the third meeting of the teams this year. They split the first two contests in Minnesota.

The Wild (16-11-2) lost 5-0 the night before in Detroit and was looking to put that behind them. It was their worst defeat since Dallas beat them in Nov 2004. Columbus beat them 4-0 last time they played in Minnesota

Columbus (13-11-5) just did not come out with the energy needed to overcome the trap style of the Wild.

"They (Minnesota) came in and played a quiet game, positionally strong and we tried to play around it in the first two periods,” said Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock. “We didn't have very many quality scoring chances. We weren't willing to work for the things we needed to work for."

At 6:09 of the first period, Minnesota moved the puck into the neutral zone. Pavol Dimetra took the pass from Marian Gaborik and found Aaron Voros in the slot. Leclaire, going from left to right, had no chance for the save. It was the 5th goal of the season for Voros. Earlier in the game, Voros also tangled in a wild haymaker fight with Jackets Jered Boll.

Beginning in the second period, Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock changed up his lines for the first shift. He moved Jason Chimera into a line with Nikolia Zherdev and Michael Peca. It paid off quickly as just 52 seconds into the period, Chimera found an open Zherdev in the slot and the forward wasted no time finding the net with his snap shot. It was the 11th goal of the campaign for Z.

At 11:43, Columbus dodged a bullet. Derek Boogaard forced the puck into the Jackets zone. Eric Belander picked up the loose puck and let it rip towards the goal. Leclaire made the original stop and as the referee blew the whistle the puck dribbled across line. The goal was waved off due to the whistle being blown.

Minnesota regained the lead for good 2:22 into the third period. Brian Rolston’s wrister from just inside the blue line found it’s way past Leclaire. It looked as if the puck was deflected off defenseman Rostislav Klesla.

"I just wanted to get it on the net," said Rolston. "I think it might have hit off of one of their defensemen in front. It was just good luck, basically."

Minnesota is 8-2-2 in one goal games and from that point on, the Wild played a defensive shell. The Jackets seemed to wake up a bit, putting 14 shots on goal, many quality shots, but none found its way into the net.

"We were good until the end. Towards the end we started to throw the puck all over the place,” said Minnesota head coach Jacques Lemaire. “Guys weren't as cool with the puck as during the game. When a team wants to pressure like that you need good support."

There was not much of an offensive forecheck while they waited for the clock to wind down and they get their first victory in Nationwide since January 18, 2002.

“We started the game real slow. We got our legs in the third period, we came out and we got lots of chances. Unfortunately, we ran out of time. We got it going too late," Chimera said.

Columbus continues its homestand on Monday against Anaheim, Wednesday in a rematch against Colorado and then off to Boston on Saturday.