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Radulov's shootout goal pushes Predators past Blue Jackets

Feb 26, 2007 - 4:23 AM COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- The Nashville Predators fell apart in the third period. Rookie Alexander Radulov picked up the pieces in the shootout.

Radulov scored the lone goal in the bonus format after Nashville squandered a two-goal lead in the third, giving the Predators a 4-3 triumph over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Despite suffering a late letdown that sent the game beyond regulation, the Predators (42-18-4) overtook the idle Buffalo Sabres (41-16-5) by one point in the race for the Presidents' Trophy.

With the game even at 1-1 early in the second period, J.P. Dumont and Vernon Fiddler tallied 1:52 apart to stake Nashville to a two-goal advantage. But tough guy Jody Shelley netted his first goal in 73 games 4 1/2 minutes into the third and defenseman Ron Hainsey scored midway through the period to forge a 3-3 deadlock.

"We showed ourselves what we could do when we decide to stay with the game plan," Shelley said. "I don't even know what happened (on my goal). I just kept chopping away at the puck and it ended up in the net."

After a scoreless overtime, Columbus' David Vyborny rang a shot off the left goalpost in the first round of the shootout. Radulov made Nashville's first attempt a successful one, deking before beating goaltender Ty Conklin to the stick side for a 1-0 edge.

"I just went in and tried to make a move, and it went in," Radulov said.

"I guess my philosophy is to get out as far as I can and make them deke," Conklin said. "I got him to do what I wanted and I thought about giving him a little poke-check, but I didn't. I kind of wish I did now. He made a good shot. He has a long reach and he found the post and it went in."

Chris Mason made it stand, denying Nikolai Zherdev and Rick Nash with pad saves to give the Predators their seventh win in as many meetings with the Blue Jackets this season.

"I just tried to stay up and not go for the fakes and make them make the first move instead of me," Mason said.

"I want to say thank you to my teammates," Radulov said. "We were winning, 3-1, and their third goal was my mistake that led to the goal. After that, Mason played unbelievable."

Paul Kariya scored his third goal in two games and Mason made 31 saves for Nashville, which has won three of four.

"They were all over us (in the third) and they came back and tied it up," Mason said. "We were lucky enough to take it to the shootout and get the win."

Hainsey and Fredrik Modin each had a goal and an assist and Vyborny set up a pair of tallies for the Blue Jackets, who have dropped six of their last eight.

"We're disappointed because it was 1-1 and we felt we had taken over the game," Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We gathered ourselves for the third period and did a good job because of that. ... I thought we deserved a better fate."

During a power play, Kariya gave the Predators a 1-0 lead with his 20th goal of the season. After defenseman Kimmo Timonen's one-timer from the blue line was stopped, Martin Erat dug out the puck from a crowd in front and pushed it to Kariya, who fired it into the net from the right side at 6:54.

Modin forged a tie 64 seconds into the second with a man-advantage tally of his own, tipping Vyborny's shot from along the right wing boards past Mason. But Dumont scored for the fifth time in seven games at 2:19 and Fiddler knocked in his own rebound shortly thereafter for a 3-1 lead.

Shelley drew Columbus within one with his first goal since March 15 against Chicago, and Hainsey slapped a loose puck between Mason's pads from the high slot with 9:04 to go, knotting the game at 3-3.

"It just kind of bounced in the slot there and it was kind of a race (to the puck)," Hainsey said. "I tried to get as much on it as I could before the guy got there, and I was able to get it by them."

"We just got away from our tendencies," Fiddler said. "I don't know if it was fatigue, but we can't let that happen. Down the stretch here, we have to get in the mode of when we get the lead, we have to keep it. We let them back in it, but at the end of the day, we got the two points, and that's the most important thing."