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Nash, Novotny help Blue Jackets trounce Blackhawks

Oct 24, 2007 - 4:57 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Rick Nash and Jiri Novotny combined to spoil the best performance thus far by Patrick Kane.

Nash scored two goals and set up another and Novotny also tallied twice as the Columbus Blue Jackets outlasted the Chicago Blackhawks, 7-4, on Tuesday.

Michael Peca collected three assists while Dan Fritsche and defenseman Rostislav Klesla each set up a pair of goals for Columbus, which had lost three of its previous four games.

"We worked really hard as a team tonight," Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. "All three periods, we had fast starts, and we needed them. Chicago is a hard team to shut down right now."

Drafted first overall this past June, Kane - along with 2006 first-round pick Jonathan Toews - has been a breath of fresh air for the Blackhawks. The 18-year-old entered Tuesday leading all rookies in scoring with nine points, including multi-point efforts in his previous two games.

"He has been our best player," Chicago coach Denis Savard said. "Kane's line has also been our best line. That line (of Kane, Toews and Tuomo Ruutu) has given us consistent production."

The Buffalo native continued his torrid pace in this one, registering two goals and two assists. However, it was not enough to slow down the offensive attack of the Blue Jackets.

Nash, who entered with a three-game goal-scoring streak, began the festivities just 2:18 into the contest, taking a feed by Peca and ripping a shot from the slot that sailed over the blocker of goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin.

"My linemates have done a great job setting me up," Nash said. "Peca started it on the first goal, but everyone has been a part of it."

Novotny doubled the lead 23 seconds later, wristing a shot that found its way between Khabibulin's pads. But Kane halved Chicago's deficit late in the opening period with his second goal of the season, deking Fredrik Norrena before lifting a backhander over the sprawled netminder with 4:39 left.

"It was a night where every time the puck came to me, something good happened," Kane said. "I hope that continues, but I know every night won't be like this."

Just 4 1/2 minutes into the middle session, Novotny completed his first career multi-goal effort, staking the Blue Jackets to a 3-1 advantage.

"We got off to a good start and we ended up getting a big two points," Novotny said. "The game was wide open and we had to win a shootout."

However, Toews and Kane tallied to pull the Blackhawks into a tie. The goal by Toews, his third of the campaign, extended his career-opening points streak to seven games.

Sergei Fedorov snapped the deadlock with a power-play tally with 22 seconds remaining in the period, flipping a rebound over Khabibulin. The goal came just 88 seconds after Kane's second of the night.

"The power-play goal was big for us," Hitchcock said. "It sort of killed their momentum and the determination we showed there, I thought, was good."

Nash made it 5-3 just over nine minutes into the third. After a shot from the high slot by Klesla was blocked, the puck came to Nash, who fired it between Khabibulin's pads from near the left point for his seventh of the season.

It also capped the former Maurice Richard Trophy winner's second two-goal performance of the campaign.

Nikolai Zherdev stretched the lead to three goals with 7:39 remaining and, after James Wisniewski tallied for Chicago, fellow defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen sealed it for Columbus with a shorthanded empty-netter at 17:55.

Norrena stopped 24 shots en route to his first win of the season for the Blue Jackets.

Khabibulin made 19 saves and Ruutu recorded three assists for the Blackhawks, who had won four of five.