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Vyborny's shootout goal lifts Blue Jackets past Ducks

Mar 15, 2007 - 6:46 AM ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- David Vyborny hasn't scored as many goals this season compared to the past, but he remains sharp in shootouts.

Vyborny scored the lone shootout goal as the Columbus Blue Jackets posted a 5-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.

The right wing has just 16 goals this season after netting 22 in each of the past two campaigns, but is 4-for-8 in the bonus format this season.

Vyborny scored the winner in the last half of the fourth round of the shootout when he deked goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere before flipping the puck over his glove.

"I just waited longer on the shot," Vyborny said. "I know that he (Giguere) goes down, so I wanted to hold the puck on the left side and then go upstairs."

Columbus goaltender Fredrik Norrena denied all four Anaheim shooters in the shootout with difficult pad saves. He improved to 2-3 in shootouts this season and has stopped 5-of-15 attempts.

Defenseman Francois Beauchemin scored twice while Chris Kunitz and Corey Perry also tallied for the Ducks (42-17-12), who extended their lead over the Dallas Stars and the San Jose Sharks to nine points in the Pacific Division despite the loss.

"We've got to find a way to stay focused and play every game for the full 60 minutes," Beauchemin said. "That's what we've got to work on. We turned over the puck too many times tonight. It wasn't that good of a game for us, but we've got to regroup and we've got another big one (vs. Chicago) coming on Friday."

Beauchemin gave the Ducks a 2-1 lead at 2:40 of the second period when he blasted a slap shot from the right point past a screened Norrena.

"The first goal was kind of a fluke," he said. "The puck bounced in from the point and got through Norrena."

Beauchemin capped the second multi-goal game of his four-year NHL career when he took Samuel Pahlsson's pass and one-timed a shot from the slot past Norrena at 13:02 of the third period to tie the game at three.

"The second one was a nice play," said Beauchemin, who has six goals in 60 games this season. "We had a 3-on-2, and one of our guys took their defenseman with him. Sammy dropped the puck to me, and I shot a one-timer and it went in."

Nikolai Zherdev scored twice while Rick Nash and Fredrik Modin also scored for the Blue Jackets, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Zherdev scored twice in a span of just over a minute early in the second period to give Columbus a 3-2 lead. He took a pass from Vyborny on a 2-on-1 and beat Giguere at 3:41 and banged in a loose puck on the doorstep at 4:44.

"I didn't play so badly," Zherdev said. "I got those two quick ones in the second. In the third period, I had a chance (for the hat trick), but I gave the puck to (Fredrik) Modin to shoot. The third one, in the shootout, I hit the post."

Nash gave Columbus a 4-3 lead at 12:49 of the third period when he took Modin's rebound off the back boards and stuffed the puck past Giguere.

Kunitz tied the game at four when he redirected Teemu Selanne's pass on a 2-on-1 past Norrena with 1:50 left in the third period.