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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- It could be years before the Columbus Blue Jackets experience a playoff-like atmosphere. Until then, Friday night will have to do.
Marc Denis stopped 32 shots and three teammates scored goals as the expansion Blue Jackets won for the first time on home ice, 3-1 over the Washington Capitals.
"It just about felt like the playoffs out there," said Steve
Heinze, a seven-year playoff veteran with Boston who Columbus
picked up in the expansion draft.
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I looked at the roster for this team. I know all the guys that are on the team. They've got some great forwards and they have speed. ” |
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— Washington's Chris Simon, on the Blue Jackets |
A crowd of 16,128 at Nationwide Arena gave the team a standing ovation throughout the final minute. After the game, the Blue Jackets slapped hands with fans who leaned over the exit tunnel.
"I can't remember when I've wanted to win so bad -- including
the Stanley Cup finals," said Columbus general manager and
president Doug MacLean, who coached the Florida Panthers to the
finals in 1996. "That's how much we needed it. It was a reward for
the guys and for our fans."
The Blue Jackets were 0-4-0-1 at home and had lost their last
six overall since the franchise's only previous win, 3-2 at Calgary
on Oct. 12. Washington's winless streak on the road continued as
the Capitals fell to 0-4-2-0.
Columbus' 3-0 lead matched the season opener when the Blue
Jackets scored three goals in a 1:46 span of the first period, only
to have Chicago dominate the final two periods for a 5-3 victory.
Denis (1-3-0) was impenetrable almost all night. He came in
permitting five goals a game, including all of the Kings' scores in
an embarrassing 7-1 home loss to Los Angeles in the second game
ever at Nationwide.
"These people have been here game in, game out, always on their feet," said Denis, acquired this summer in a deal with the Colorado Avalanche. "They've spent about three years waiting for this."
The Blue Jackets tallied on their third shot of the night when Kevin Dineen wristed a rebound over the top of goalie Olaf Kolzig's
glove. Mattias Timander set up the goal with a blast that glanced off Kolzig's pads.
After failing to score on their last 16 power plays at home, the Blue Jackets used a two-man advantage to make it 2-0 less than three minutes later.
Jamie Heward's one-timer from the point followed a cross-ice pass from Petteri Nummelin.
Before Heward's blast, the Blue Jackets were just 1-for-32 on
the power play at home and 3-for-49 on the season. But the goal
came against a Washington defense that was tied for 28th in the NHL
in killing penalties.
Capitals forward Chris Simon, who played 19 minutes in his first game back after a long contract impasse, said it's not as if
Columbus doesn't have talent.
"I looked at the roster for this team. I know all the guys that are on the team. They've got some great forwards and they have speed," he said.
Columbus was outscored 14-2 in second periods before Heinze's
third goal of the season, 3:14 into the period, made it 3-0.
"A couple of guys overcommitted," Heinze said. "The first one tried to get a big hit on me and the second gave me too much space."
Washington, which lost at Boston 4-1 Thursday night in Mike
Keenan's coaching debut with the Bruins, finally got on the board
at 7:23 of the second period when Sylvain Cote also scored off a
long rebound while the Capitals held a man advantage. Denis stopped
two shots, but was sprawled on the ice as Sergei Gonchar's shot
ricocheted to Cote, who pounded it into an open net.
It was the first time Columbus led all season through two
periods, making Chicago the only remaining team to not lead heading
into the final period.
"It was really exciting for us," Columbus forward Kevyn Adams
said. "We played with a little more desperation."
Kolzig dropped to 1-4-1 as he continued his return from
arthroscopic knee surgery. He faced only 19 shots.
The victory was particularly sweet for coach Dave King, back for
a second shot as an NHL coach, but saddled with a team that is
overmatched most nights.
"You get to a certain stage of the season where playing well
just doesn't satisfy you enough," he said. "We'd played three
good games in a row and that felt good. But you want some concrete
reward. To get a win, two points, for ourselves and our fans,
nothing could be better than that."
Game notes
In his first game after signing a two-year, $4.5 million
contract, Washington forward Chris Simon saw substantial playing
time. Simon, who cut his long hair while sitting out his contract
impasse, practiced with the team for the first time Wednesday. ...
Columbus' 19 shots on goal was its second-lowest total of the
season. ... Capitals forward Richard Zednik sat out the third of a
four-game suspension for cross-checking Colorado's Adam Foote. ...
Gonchar extended his point streak to four games.
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NHL Scoreboard
Washington Clubhouse
Columbus Clubhouse
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Buffalo 2
Toronto 1
New Jersey 3
Carolina 3
Columbus 3
Washington 1
NY Islanders 2
Montreal 1
Ottawa 6
Tampa Bay 0
Minnesota 3
Calgary 1
Florida 3
Nashville 3
Pittsburgh 4
NY Rangers 1
Phoenix 4
Dallas 2
Atlanta 1
Vancouver 1
Anaheim 3
Edmonton 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Kevin Dineen puts back the blocked shot for the goal.
avi: 825 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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