Mason, Jackets Outlast Bruins

March 10, 2009 by J. Justin Boggs

Coming into to Tuesday’s heavyweight goaltending battle, Boston’s Tim Thomas had a league leading 2.08 goals against average, and Columbus’ Steve Mason had the second best with a 2.24 average. But home ice and a little help from the defense gave the Columbus Blue Jackets a 2-0 victory over the Boston Bruins who remain the Eastern Conference’s top team.

The Blue Jackets remain in good shape for a playoff spot being four points above the threshold of getting in the playoffs with 74 points.

Mason notched his league leading ninth shutout of the season. He already ties a franchise record for wins in a season with 27 with 47 games played. In 2003, Marc Denis had 27 wins over the course of 77 games.

“(Mason) was really good when it was a little sketchy,” Blue Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock said. “He really bailed us out when we were sketchy with the puck in our own zone.”

“Obviously going into the third period 0-0, one mistake could cost us the game,” Mason said. “Special teams are a big part of the game and our penalty kill has great lately.”

Columbus broke a 0-0 stalemate open at 6:50 of the third when Raffi Torres scored his seventh of the season on a power play as his wrister beat the stick side of Thomas on the far post. Blue Jackets forward Rick Nash added an empty net goal with 27 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

“I thought we had a lot of chances,” Torres said. Torres added that he thought that team’s offense played better than the score indicated.

This epic goaltending duel lived up to its billing; especially in the first two periods. The Blue Jackets outshot the Bruins 27-20 through the first two periods. In that span, both goalies had to stand on their head. Mason nearly lost his edge just moments into the game when Bruins forward Milan Lucic almost knocked in a loose puck past the goalie, however Columbus defenseman Rostislav Klesla knocked the puck away and leaving the game scoreless.

“That was huge, I mean instead of him putting his glove on the puck which would have a penalty shot, he swatted it over my way so that was a huge play and a smart one too,” Mason said.

The Blue Jackets’ penalty kill was tough as nails. The Bruins had a power play late in the first period which had no shots on goal, and even the Blue Jackets had several shorthanded scoring opportunities.

--

Vermette’s play aiding team

Since Antoine Vermette joined the Blue Jackets on Saturday, the team had had back-to-back victories against the league’s best teams. Saturday, the Blue Jackets defeated the top team in the Western Conference Detroit Red Wings 8-2. Vermette had an assist against Detroit. In Tuesday’s 2-0 win over the Bruins, the forward assisted on Torres’ game-winner. Vermette was added last week at the trade deadline in exchange for goaltender Pascal Leclaire and a draft pick that went to the Ottawa Senators.

Vermette is especially needed at a time the team is missing forwards Michael Peca, Jason Chimera, and Fredrik Modin due to injuries.

“I was pretty impressed,” Vermette said of his first game in Columbus. “It’s fun to play in front of fans like that. It’s a big life and it’s surely appreciated by the players.”

“He’s a good player for us right now,” Hitchcock said. “He’s a perfect fit for what we have going. With no Chimera, no (Derick) Brassard, no Peca, and no Modin, we really needed someone in that hole… we needed someone to augment the balance. He really helps us there.”

Vermette was tied for a game high five shots on goal and won 20 out of 30 faceoffs against the Bruins.

--

Notes

The Blue Jackets are now 11-3-1 against teams from the Eastern Conference and are 21-10-2 at home overall. That is just a fine statistic for Columbus who is hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. Nash has a five game point streak and three game goal streak.