When the fans want a win, they will do everything in their power to will the home team to a victory.
Although the sellout crowd could not cheer the Columbus Blue Jackets to a win Saturday, Columbus did manage a 3-3 tie against the Edmonton Oilers.
Columbus has not sufferred a defeat since returning from a five-game road skid. The Blue Jackets have a certain ability to win at home but find it difficult to win on the road.
“I’m not sure what it is, but when (we’re) at home a big hit is noticed by the crowd,” said left wing Jody Shelley. “A shot that almost goes in gets a big ‘Oh!’ out of the crowd. When you’re on the road, you don’t get that sort of response. It’s harder to get up and it’s harder to stay up than it is at home — we’re a team that feeds off that energy.”
The energy the crowd gave the Blue Jackets against the Oilers resulted in their second comeback from three goals down in 12 games and only the second time in franchise history.
“We weren’t happy with the way we started,” said Columbus goalie Marc Denis. “Our first period was kind of sluggish — for both teams — there weren’t too many scoring chances.”
Edmonton took advantage of one of its few chances in the first period to take a 1-0 lead. Columbus was short-handed and tried to clear the puck and take some pressure off. Oilers defenseman Janne Niinimaa kept the puck in the Blue Jackets’ zone and shot it off the boards to center Todd Marchant. Marchant was the only man in the center of the ice and hit a hard slapshot wide of Denis. Oiler right wing Anson Carter managed to get a stick on the shot, and the puck deflected off the post and into the net.
“They got a pretty lucky bounce,” Denis said. “I’m not sure Carter meant to tip that in.”
Carter ended the night with two goals, and Niinimaa tallied two assists.
Carter’s second goal came on a give-and-go play as he was able to punch the puck through Denis’ legs.
Rookie left wing Rick Nash scored Columbus’s first goal during the final minutes of the second period.
A centering pass from Blue Jackets center Tyler Wright deflected off the back of the net and went in front of Oilers goaltender Jussi Markkanen. Nash fought for position and worked hard to get to the puck. As he was falling to the ice, Nash flicked the puck in for the score.
“Rick Nash had a fabulous game,” said interim coach Doug MacLean. “Today was the day in the life of Rick Nash, and I tell you, he had a game, this kid.”
Nash was quick to point out he wasn’t the only one who gave a great effort.
“Our line was really clicking,” Nash said. “The three of us (Nash, Wright and center Espen Knutsen) really had a great game. We’ve got to show up like that every night.”
In the third period, Columbus right wing David Vyborny scored on a one-timer and left wing Ray Whitney tied the game off a rebound at 9:19.
The game-tying goal started out at the left point when defenseman Rostislav Klesla hit a slapshot toward Markkanen. Right wing David Ling tipped Klesla’s shot, and it bounced off Markkanen right to Whitney. The captain finished the job for the score.
Even more noticeable than the Blue Jackets’ comeback was the Oilers’ inability to keep the Jackets in check — allowing them to score three unanswered goals.
“Maybe a combination of trying to be overcautious — we’ve done it plenty of times — and they are battling for a playoff spot,” Whitney said. “They were a little bit tighter than they should have been, and they are missing some key players in the lineup. Maybe they sat back a little bit.”
