NHL Update: Columbus Blue Jackets dispatched Nashville Predators, 4-0
Columbus Captain Rick Nash lit the lamp twice, as Columbus Blue Jackets used a four-goal burst in the final frame to dispatch Nashville Predators, 4-0, at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday night.
Matt Calvert and Antoine Vermette each also tallied a goal for Columbus, which has gone 7-1-1 in its previous nine games. Kris Russell assisted twice and Steve Mason turned away all 20 shots to record his third shutout of the season to earn the
victory. Mason has improved to 6-1-0 in his previous seven starts.
"I think everything is coming around at the right time," Mason said about his recent play.
Pekka Rinne made 26 saves for Predators, who suffered a 3-2 loss to Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday and has lost three of their previous four games.
Each goalie made 17 saves through two periods to keep the game goalless after 40 minutes of action.
"The whole game had a playoff atmosphere to it - the first two periods were kind of a slugfest," Blue Jackets Coach Scott Arniel said. "We brought that road game that we were playing ... and we did a lot of those things that we had been doing
on the road."
However, Nash started the scoring with a frantic pace on a fantastic individual attempt nearly one minute into the third session. He brought the puck down the right wing boards, fended off Kevin Klein along the right side, then rushed in front
and jammed a fore-hander past goalie for a 1-0 lead.
“We had too many turnovers and a lot of it was just soft on the puck,” Predators coach Barry Trotz said. “They kept fore checking and I don’t think we managed after the first goal.”
Blue Jackets notched a two-goal advantage, 2-0, less than 5 1/2 minutes apart. The goal came when a dump-in by Russell popped off the end boards with Rinne out from his net to play the puck and it instead came right to Calvert, who capitalized
on Rinne’s misplay and easily tapped the puck into the empty net for his sixth goal of the season.
Vermette pushed the lead to 3-0 just before the midway mark of the same period, setting up a nice passing combination from Grant Clitsome at the point to Russell at the left circle to Vermette for a deflection from the crease.
"We talked about the importance of how we play on the road. Basically what we did was play well defensively without the puck and try and play the little details right and stick to the system."Vermette said.
Nash netted his second goal on a power play, finishing the scoring at 4-0 with 51 seconds left in the game.
Tags: