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Norrena, Boll lead Blue Jackets past Avalanche

Dec 13, 2007 - 4:26 AM COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- Fredrik Norrena did not have to do much to slow down one of the league's highest-scoring teams.

Norrena stopped 15 shots and Jared Boll scored the decisive goal as the Columbus Blue Jackets posted a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.

Colorado, which rolled to a 9-5 win over St. Louis on Sunday, is second in the Western Conference with 92 goals. The Avalanche seemed to have caught a break in not having to face Pascal Leclaire, who leads the league with six shutouts.

However, Norrena barely had to break a sweat, helping Columbus beat Colorado for just the fourth time in 25 meetings between the clubs.

"It was definitely a team effort," Norrena said. "I had to make a couple of big saves, but overall, it was a pretty easy evening."

"He was our best player," Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He was solid and made two big saves in the third period when we needed it. It's nice to know you have two goalies and it doesn't matter who you put in right now."

Boll snapped a 1-1 tie in the second and Kris Beech added an insurance goal with 5:18 to play as the Blue Jackets snapped a two-game skid.

"I love scoring," Boll said. "It's always fun to help your team win (in) other ways than just fighting and energy."

Columbus took a 2-1 lead with 8:28 left in the second period, when Boll scored his third goal of the season on the Blue Jackets' only shot of the session.

Curtis Glencross entered the offensive zone and made a nice drop pass to Boll, whose slap shot from the high slot beat goaltender Jose Theodore to the stick side.

Beech slipped a backhander past Theodore late in the third, giving Columbus a 3-1 bulge. Sergei Fedorov scored into an empty net with 50 seconds left to seal the win.

"It was not the most offensively powered effort by us," Beech said. "But we played really well in our own end. We really didn't give them much and Freddy played well. It was a good effort."

Columbus held a 1-0 lead until Colorado got the equalizer early in the second as Ben Guite scored his second goal of the season at 3:07. Defenseman John Michael-Liles took a shot from the point, and the rebound came to Andrew Brunette, who set up Guite as Norrena could not recover in time.

The Blue Jackets scored first on a nice give-and-go between Manny Malhotra and Dan Fritsche at 10:21 of the first period.

Malhotra had the puck in the left corner before chipping it to Fritsche, who was behind the net. Malhotra received a return pass in front and beat Theodore for his fifth tally of the season.

It was the first game back for Malhotra ,who missed the previous five with a strained knee.

"Scoring's always nice," Malhotra said. "I think the biggest thing myself and Novo (Jiri Novotny) had to offer was that enthusiasm and that adrenaline rush from being off the ice so long. We just wanted to inject that energy into the lineup tonight."

Theodore stopped 11 shots for Colorado, which managed just four shots in the final period.

"They played well," Colorado left wing Ryan Smyth said. "We just have to find ways to get the puck in the net a little more. We weren't giving up a lot and we got behind the eight ball. We got back on our heels and they capitalized and won the game."

"We didn't generate enough chances tonight," Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville added. "Normally, we generate a few more than that. They played a strong defensive game and we just didn't generate enough chances in the game to win."