U Weekly. Serving The Ohio State University in Columbus Ohio

Blue Jackets riding a rollercoaster

By Eric Burch

It is absolutely amazing how different one team can look from one game to the next. But the Columbus Blue Jackets are continuing to shake convention this season in how they play hockey.

In their last 34 games, the Blue Jackets are 8-19-7. But suddenly, last Tuesday against the Nashville Predators, the Blue Jackets looked like a very competitive hockey club.

Steve Mason led the way with 29 saves, Derick Brassard, Kristian Huselius and Fredrik Modin scored for the Jackets, and Columbus came away with a 3-2 victory. The Blue Jackets led 3-0 midway through the third period, and despite Nashville's best efforts, the Jackets held onto the lead late with great goaltending and stout defense.

Then, the Blue Jackets stayed home on Thursday to face off against the Los Angeles Kings. Columbus looked primed for another romp as they dominated the first half of the first period. Then, the Kings scored a cheap goal with nine minutes left in the first period and the Blue Jackets didn't respond.

Columbus completely fell apart from there, offering zero resistance after showing such incredible promise in the first 11 minutes. Anze Kopitar scored two goals for Los Angeles, although Antoine Vermette scored a meaningless goal in the last half of the third period to avoid the shutout. Los Angeles walked out of Columbus with a 4-1 victory.

Then, the Blue Jackets took to the road to take on another division opponent in the St. Louis Blues. Columbus looked set up for failure on multiple occasions as they broke down at the worst possible moments, but finally, they fought through and got the goal they needed.

With less than two minutes to go, the Blue Jackets blew their second lead on a power play goal from Andy McDonald. After Mathieu Garon made an unbelievable save with his pad late in the second minute of overtime, Kris Russell took the puck from the left faceoff circle and beat Blues goalie Chris Mason with a laser to seal the victory.

Now, the Blue Jackets will play Tuesday at Colorado before going on a five-game homestand before the Olympic break. Here's hoping that the Jackets can find a level of consistently good play before that Olympic break.

Originally Published: February 3, 2010

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