COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Rick Nash and the
Columbus Blue Jackets returned home and stayed on a
roll.
Steve Mason made 27 saves for his first shutout
of the season and 16th of his career, and Nash had a second-period goal
and the Blue Jackets earned their fourth straight win with a 2-0
victory over the Nashville Predators on Monday
night.
The game was the first for Columbus since
returning from a first-ever three-game sweep in California, and one
against a divisional foe who typically has the Blue Jackets'
number.
"I think we had the same mentality as the
road games," said Nash, the league's first star of the week with six
goals in California. "We forget about our last game. We were just
worrying about tonight against Nashville and that's why I think we
played so well."
Nash tied the franchise record with
points in nine straight games on a one-timer from the right circle past
Pekka Rinne, who finished with 28 saves. On Saturday, Nash scored all
three goals in the Blue Jackets' shutout and first regulation win in San
Jose. The captain also has goals in six straight games, one shy of the
franchise record.
Mike Commodore also scored for
Columbus (13-6-0), off to the best start in franchise
history.
First-year Columbus coach Scott Arniel
didn't know how his players would respond after the long
trip.
"I am very impressed with our team coming off
that successful road trip," he said. "I wasn't sure how we were going to
play. We did a good job of limiting their chances. It was a good start
for us out of the gate and it helped our legs."
It
helped that Mason was solid all night, especially down the stretch. He
calmly covered the puck on a late Nashville power play and handled Kevin
Klein's shot with eight seconds remaining.
"Mase was
there when he needed to be and made some big stops," Arniel
said.
The league's rookie of the year and shutouts
leader two seasons ago, deflected the praise to his
teammates.
"Obviously a shutout is a total team
effort," he said. "Much like we have had in our past couple of games,
the defensemen have been great -- a lot of blocked shots -- and they are
really making both goaltenders' (Mathieu Garon) jobs
easier."
Columbus fended off early chances around its
net before settling in and scoring in the first
period.
Commodore pushed up the right side, took a
cross-ice pass from RJ Umberger and fired at low shot past Rinne for his
second goal of the season at 8:37.
"I was a little
disappointed that in terms of that we didn't come out with a little more
pop," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "We had too many guys who were
passengers tonight."
The Blue Jackets' second score
was similar to their first, instead the puck went from Derick Brassard
to Jake Voracek to Nash, who scored his team-leading
13th.
"Things are just going in right now," Nash
said. "It's been fun playing with Jake and Brass. They've been setting
me up. I've been setting them up. There's been a lot of chemistry.
Things are good."
NOTES:
Blue Jackets defenseman Marc Methot suffered an upper-body injury in
the second period and did not return. ... Nashville finished its trip
2-2. ... Commodore, out most of the season with an injured thumb, has
two goals in six games. He had that many in 57 games last
season.
Updated November 22,
2010
