Blue Jackets finally best the Predators
by J. Justin Boggs, Columbus Wired (1/26/10)  - Photos by Joel Torres

The Columbus Blue Jackets are in the midst of a self-described ‘10 game season’ beginning with Monday’s match against the Nashville Predators as they entered Monday’s action nine points out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference. The Blue Jackets are 1-0 on this young season as they defeated the Predators 3-2 in Nationwide Arena.

Members of the Blue Jackets said playing well in this 10 game stretch beginning with Monday’s game and ending with the first game following the Winter Olympics break against Vancouver is critical for making the playoffs. With eight home games, and nine of these 10 games against Western Conference foes, the feeling from the Blue Jackets is they are still in the playoff hunt if they go at least 8-2 during this 10 game season.

“We have to play well in the final 27 games,” Blue Jackets defenseman Mike Commodore said. “We are going to have to win most of them; at least 20 of them.”

That is a huge ‘if’. It will likely take at the least 92 points to compete in the Western Conference playoffs. Columbus has 51 points through 55 games. At that pace, 21-6 would be at the least what the team would have to do to just have a chance to be in the playoffs. Sitting in seventh in the conference, the win against Nashville was needed for Columbus to stay within reach.

 

 

“We needed to get into the 50’s,” Blue Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock said. “We are (eight) points out of a playoff spot – that is doable… We pretty much have to go 8-2. We have to find a way to go 8-2 and have a good feeling going into the break. We got to do that.”

"We set our goal and it is going to be very important for us to reach it,” Blue Jackets forward Derick Brassard said. “It is going to be pretty tight in the standings… We are lucky because we have already played more of our games on the road.”

Columbus took a vastly different route to start the game; they did not allow a goal early in the game. Monday’s game broke a six game streak of opponents scoring first on Columbus. During that stretch, not only did teams score first on the Blue Jackets, they scored early. Nashville and Columbus were locked into a defensive stalemate going for the better part of the first two periods.

The Blue Jackets went a span of 18:29 during the end of the first and start of the second periods without getting a shot on goal. At one point midway through the second period, Nashville was outshooting Columbus 14-5. From there on, the Blue Jackets’ offense came to life.

The Blue Jackets grabbed a 1-0 lead 16:10 into the second period when Brassard redirected Milan Jurcina’s blue-line shot through the five hole of Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne.

Columbus gained a 3-0 lead with a pair of goals scored within 39 seconds of each other midway through the third period. Kristian Huselius scored on a nice cross-crease feed from captain Rick Nash for Columbus’ second goal eight minutes into the third. Fredrick Modin scored 38 seconds later knocking in a loose puck from a Jan Hejda shot.

The Predators had a response. They would get within a goal as Martin Erat scored 10:06 into the third and Patric Kornqvist scored 5:30 later at the end of a Jan Hejda penalty. Heading into Monday’s game, Nashville was 4-0 against Columbus. The last time the Predators came to Columbus, they rallied in the third period to have a come-from-behind victory over the Blue Jackets.

“This happens so much against that damn team,” Hitchcock said. “Sometimes you sort of expect bad things to happen. We have had so many times against Nashville that something bad has happened a lot. But it didn’t this time and that is a good sign.”

Nashville has a few chances late but Columbus kept the door shut.

“We stayed calm and we just played a solid game at the end,” Brassard said. “Everyone is pretty nervous because in the past, we got scored on.”

Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason stopped 29-of-31 of the Predators’ shots. Rinne had 14 saves on 17 shots against.

“Our goalie was the best player on the ice and we needed him today,” Hitchcock said.

Columbus continues its home stand Thursday night against a red-hot Kings team before embarking on a brief two game road swing.