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Norrena, Blue Jackets blank Sharks

Feb 17, 2007 - 5:43 AM COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- Fredrik Norrena supplied the defense and Gilbert Brule took care of the offense.

Norrena recorded 29 saves and Brule added a goal and assist as the Columbus Blue Jackets posted a 3-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks.

It was the third career shutout for Norrena, who registered back-to-back blankings on December 2 against Edmonton and December 5 vs. Colorado.

"(Norrena) was really good, he was solid," Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Don't get lost on a 3-0 game, it was closer than a 3-0 game and it could have gone either way. Because their forwards are so high and dominate so well, we needed extra help and we gave up some things to protect the goal. Winning the game was important, but stopping them on the power play was important."

The Finn stopped nine shots in the opening period and 10 in each of the final two sessions.

"(Norrena) was able to see pretty much most of the shots and he made some nice saves," Sharks right wing Jonathan Cheechoo said. "Goalies are going to do that, it happens."

Brule helped open the scoring by setting up Fredrik Modin, who tapped his own rebound past goaltender Evgeni Nabokov at 4:56 of the second period after missing a wraparound attempt at the left goalpost.

The 20-year-old Brule netted his fifth goal of the season just over six minutes into the third, firing a slap shot over the left shoulder of Nabokov.

"It's great playing with those guys (Modin and Sergei Fedorov)," Brule said. "They are so fast. I had my head up the whole way. I put it exactly where I wanted and was just so happy it went in."

Fedorov added his 15th goal during a 5-on-3 power play six minutes later for a 3-0 lead.

"It was a great play by (Nikolai) Zherdev and (David) Vyborny to set it up and all I had to do was swing my stick, and I was fortunate to get it in," Fedorov said. "It was a big goal and gave us a little breathing room. It's a big win for us to get back on the right track."

Modin and Fedorov each added an assist for the Blue Jackets, who had lost two in a row.

Nabokov stopped 16 shots for San Jose, which suffered its second consecutive shutout in falling to 2-2-0 on its eight-game road trip. The Sharks dropped a 5-0 decision at Nashville on Wednesday.

"Some people look tight and are pressing. Some of our offense is missing," San Jose coach Ron Wilson said. "We stress playing better defense, and generally, we did. We limited their chances. Their 5-on-3, those things are going to happen. We didn't play it very well."

San Jose was without captain Patrick Marleau, who sat out due to an "upper body" injury. He is listed as day-to-day.

"Some things aren't going very well and we can't feel sorry for ourselves," Wilson said. "You have to work your way out of it. Lots of teams have injuries."

The Sharks, who were 0-for-4 on the power play, had won the previous four meetings with the Blue Jackets.