Rick Nash scored two goals and Steve Mason stopped 31 shots to lead Columbus to a 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night before 9,802 fans — the smallest crowd ever to see a Blue Jackets home game.
Derek MacKenzie also scored for the Blue Jackets, who had been pushed around in a 5-2 loss to Stanley Cup champion Chicago last week in their home opener.
Teemu Selanne notched his 609th career goal for Anaheim, which was opening a four-game road swing.
Nash scored with the help of an opposing defenseman in the second period for a 2-0 lead, then snapped in an empty-netter with 30 seconds left as the Ducks were turning up the pressure.
The previous low attendance for the Blue Jackets, in their 10th season, was 10,494, also against Anaheim on Oct. 27, 2008.
It was the second game in a row MacKenzie had a goal - the first time he's scored in consecutive games in his 69 NHL games.
Just 1:21 later, Kristian Huselius' shot was blocked into the left corner. He controlled it there, feeding Nash just left of the goal cage. Nash appeared to be passing to a wide-open Antoine Vermette at the right doorstep, but defenseman Toni Lydman tried to block the puck from getting through the crease but instead deflected it in off his right hand and stick.
The Blue Jackets killed off four straight minor penalties in the second period. The Ducks came in sixth in the NHL on the power play with a 26 percent success rate, while Columbus was 24th on the kill at 76 percent.
Just under a minute into the third period, the Ducks cut the lead in half. Jason Blake was checked near the Columbus bench and lost the puck. But Selanne swooped in to scoop it up. He glanced at a teammate skating in on the left wing, then wristed a low, hard shot that beat Mason just inside the near post.
The goal moved him to 16th on the career list, breaking a tie with Dino Ciccarelli.
The victory was also the first at home for new Blue Jackets coach Scott Arniel.
