Columbus Once Again Victim of Toronto War Room (01/17/09)
by Dave Weissman Columbus Wired

The Columbus Blue Jackets once again were victims of the Toronto war room when a goal from New Jersey Devil John Madden was ruled a goal, as evidence clearly showed the goal coming off its moring before the puck crossed the line. In the end the Devils defeated Columbus 2-1 in front of one of the largest attendance this year.

Both teams traded shots during the first period. In the second period Manny Malhotra scored his 5th goal of the year. It was a nifty saucer pass during a power play from Kristian Huselius to Malhotra that he slammed past Devil goaltender Kevin Weeks to put the Jackets up 1-0.

New Jersey then scored two goals 73 seconds apart to take the lead for good.

New Jersey tied it on their own only power play of the night on a broken play. R.J. Umberger tried to clear the puck, but whiffed at the attempt and the puck landed squarly in the slot in front of Mason. Travis Zajac collected the puck in the open space and fired it past Mason for his 13th goal of the year.

Their second goal was one that required a review from Toronto and the opinion of only one referee. The other ref, Brian Pochmara, was injured in the 1st period and did not return.

John Madden whacked at a loose puck in front of Mason, who beat two defensemen to the puck. Just as the puck crossed the line, it appeared that the net was dislodged and the goal should have been disallowed. The referee, Don Koharski signaled a goal and after review from Toronto, his call stood.

"I thought he (goaltender Steve Mason) had it (the puck) covered and they (the Devils) stuck with it and I guess there was no whistle on the ice," Umberger said. "Those are goals you want to score on your own side, just keep digging at it."

"He called it a goal because he felt that we weren't the team that pushed the net off. And the replay showed that. The puck was on its way into the net and their defenseman knocked the net off," said New Jersey head coack Brent Sutter.

Blue Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock disagreed.

"The net was off and (Marc) Methot was pushed in by (Jamie) Langenbrunner – the net was off, but it's the referees call and he called it a goal," he said. It's a little bit disappointing because our understanding was the net was off. We haven’t caught a break on one of these yet this year."

Columbus now goes on a three-game Canadian trip to Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton before breaking for the All-Star weekend. They return home after the break to face the Red Wings for the first time at Nationwide Arena on January 27th.