Coming off a shootout loss to the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Columbus Blue Jackets showed their resiliency in a 4-3 overtime victory against the rival Nashville Predators.
Before either team could register a shot, the ice at Bridgestone Arena looked more like a yard sale than a playing surface. Only three seconds into the game, Jordan Tootoo and Derek Dorsett ditched their sticks and gloves in favor of fisticuffs.
Less than a minute later, Jared Boll jumped in the action and squared off against heavyweight Brian McGrattan. Boll took a beating from 6’4” 235 pound Nashville forward, then walked to the locker room to receive medical attention. He would return later.
“Both of them took on a little more than they could chew but that’s those two. They do it to set the tone to the game,” said coach Scott Arniel about Boll and Dorsett. “Those are the things you build off of. Those are the things that you gain momentum from.”
Dorsett dropped the gloves again on his first shift since his previous bout. This time, the referees stepped in the way. Dorsett was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct and served a ten-minute misconduct penalty.
With the gloves on, Columbus fared slightly better. The Blue Jackets outshot the Predators 9-7 in the first period, though were scoreless on two power plays.
Nashville made the most of its time on the man advantage, scoring the game’s first goal on the power play with less than two minutes left in the period. Colin Wilson tallied his eighth goal of the season when picked the puck out of a crowded goal crease and fired it past Curtis Sanford.
Three minutes into the second period, Jeff Carter tied the game with his first goal as a member of the Blue Jackets. Rick Nash, without a point in the past three games, picked up an assist with his behind-the-back pass to set up Carter.
The score didn’t hold for long. Nashville re-gained the lead midway through the period when Mike Fisher knocked in a rebound from a thunderous one-timer off the stick of All-Star defenseman Shea Weber.
That goal sparked mocking chants of “Sanford, Sanford, Sanford, you suck,” from Predators’ fans. The jeers continued throughout the game. Curtis Sanford, making his second consecutive start, kept his team in the game with 28 saves.
“I’m feeling good out there and the guys are working hard, giving me a chance to see the puck,” said Sanford.
Columbus capitalized on its power play opportunity minutes later when Rick Nash pushed the puck across the slot to Vinny Prospal who tied the game with a swift backhander.
Shortly after, Nashville caught a break when R.J. Umberger’s potential go-ahead goal was waived off for incidental contact, but goaltender Pekka Rinne did not have the same luck twice.
Two minutes into the final period, James Wisniewski’s choppy shot from the point was re-directed to the front of the net where Umberger tapped in the power play goal. The Blue Jackets converted on 2 of 5 power plays against their central division rival.
Silence fell upon Bridgestone Arena with the tally, though that would soon change. With nearly five minutes remaining in the third period, Nick Spalding batted a bouncing puck through the wickets of Curtis Sanford to knot the game at 3-3.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net again in regulation, thus sending the game into overtime.
Near the halfway point of overtime, Antoine Vermette took a crucial draw in the Predators’ defensive zone. Vermette won the faceoff back to James Wisniewski who ripped a slap shot past Pekka Rinne to give the Blue Jackets their first win in Nashville since April 3, 2006.
The win was huge for Columbus’ general manager Scott Howson whose off-season acquisitions played a prominent role in the game. Carter and Wisniewski each picked up their first goals with the team, and Prospal’s second period goal marked his sixth in the Blue Jackets’ sweater. Rick Nash, surrounded by talent, picked up a pair of helpers.
“Our lack of scoring has put a lot of emphasis on our team defense and if you can chip in offensively then obliviously it makes it a lot easier to win, and look, we did it against a pretty good team tonight,” said Prospal.
Rinne allowed four goals on 29 shots against the typically low-scoring Blue Jackets. It appears he sucks.
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