“(The puck) hit my stick and I didn’t get it settled until it was over the line,” Mason said. “It just trickled over and was too late on it.”

The game should have never gotten to the shootout. The Jackets, behind two goals from Rick Nash and one from Derek Dorsett had opportunity after opportunity to add to their lead, but took their foot off the gas pedal in the third.

It’s the fourth time this season the Jackets have blown a lead. Columbus had a power play opportunity midway through the third, on a Crosby slash, but failed to convert. The Jackets also blew leads in Edmonton on Oct. 22 and Wednesday to Phoenix—both losses. They also failed to hold a two-goal lead in Anaheim on Oct. 24, but managed to win on a Fedor Tyutin goal late.

“We really could have put the door down (on the last power play),” Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. “We really could have hurt them. We still don’t have that killer instinct on the power play. We earned the (last) power play and we should have worked and worked hard on it and we didn’t.

It should have not got to the shootout.”

Antoine Vermette had a pair of assists for the Jackets, while Mason stopped 30 of 32 shots he faced.

Chris Kunitz had a goal and an assist to lead the Penguins. Ruslan Fedotenko and Alex Goligoski also scored for the Penguins. Crosby had two assists. Brent Johnson had 29 saves in regulation and stopped Antoine Vermette, Nash and Kristian Huselius in the shootout. Pittsburgh is four-for-four in shootouts this season.

“We found a way,” Johnson said. “We tilted the ice in the third period. We kept going and going and we put the puck in the net,”

The Jackets drew first blood on Halloween eve. Derek Brassard took a shot from the right point. Johnson saved his shot and the puck came right to Nash, who was wide open in the slot. From his knees, Nash tapped the rebound into the empty net with 1:32 remaining in the first.

Nash scored his second of the night with a snap shot from the right point that went under the right arm of Johnson to put Columbus up 2-0 5:37 into the second.

The Jackets inability to control the puck led to the Penguins cutting the lead in half. Derek Brassard lost control of the puck in the neutral zone on the power play and Kunitz took off towards Mason, who made the initial save. The puck came loose to Crosby behind the net and he passed it back to Kunitz, who beat Mason top shelf at 11:55.

Dorsett’s effort was rewarded with a goal off a feed from Sammy Phalsson just after a Pittsburgh power play expired. Vermette poked the puck up to Dorsett, who split two defenders and passed off to Phalsson, who had just left the penalty box. Phalsson fed the puck back to Dorsett and he beat Johnson with a backhander with 2:10 remaining in the second.

The Jackets lead evaporated in a matter of 39 seconds late in the third with the Penguins pressuring. Fedotenko scored on a rebound and Goligoski scored with a slap shot with Mason screened.

“We’re not closing games,” Nash said. “We got the lead in a lot of games already and just can’t seem to close it out. They are the defending Stanley Cup Champions. You know you can tell why they are such a good team and why we need a lot of work with the lead.”

Both teams ended the game with 32 shots, however the Penguins outshot the Jackets 12-6 in the third period. The Pens were 0-for-five on the power play, while the Jackets were 1-for-7.

Columbus travels to Washington Sunday at 5 p.m. and return home to host San Jose Wednesday at 7 p.m




dave.seaman@columbuswired.net
Twitter: @daveseaman94