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Peca makes triumphant return to spark Blue Jackets

Jan 4, 2008 - 7:54 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Michael Peca apparently is fully recovered from a recent concussion.

Activated from injured reserve earlier in the day, Peca snapped a tie with 5:18 remaining in the third period with his second goal of the game, giving the Columbus Blue Jackets a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.

Sergei Fedorov and Joakim Lindstrom each had a goal and an assist and defenseman Jan Hejda set up a pair of tallies for Columbus, which has won three of its last four games.

"We're playing OK, but not as well as we should," said Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock, whose team improved to 6-10-2 on the road. "We are all in the same boat together, all just battling away. To jump out from the pack, you have to be a team with a good road record."

With the contest even at 3-3, Jason Chimera unleashed a one-timer from the top of the left faceoff circle that Peca deflected past goaltender Jason LaBarbera from the low slot.

"We had good speed entering the zone and (Jared) Boll crowded the goal with his speed," Peca said. "I tried to face the shooter and I got a stick on it. I always want to contribute and do whatever you can to win."

The two-time Selke Trophy winner had given the Blue Jackets a 3-2 edge at 6:05 of the middle period, when he tipped in Boll's pass from along the right wing boards. With the two tallies, Peca doubled his season total.

"I felt pretty good," Peca said. "I felt better as the game went on. I tried to do the simple things. Obviously when you win, it's a better atmosphere in here."

"He's an experienced guy, a defensive-minded player," said Fedorov, who also has won a pair of Selke Trophies. "It was a great effort by him and he helped us out tremendously."

Fedorov opened the scoring at 12:21 of the first period, receiving a feed from along the left wing boards by Lindstrom and firing the puck just inside the right goalpost from the slot. It was the former Hart Trophy winner's 468th career goal, tying him with Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine for 50th place on the all-time list.

Brian Willsie deflected defenseman Rob Blake's pass by netminder Fredrik Norrena 13 seconds into the second period to forge a tie, but Lindstrom banked a wrister off the right post and in 76 seconds later to restore the Blue Jackets' advantage.

Fedorov recorded an assist on Lindstrom's goal, giving him 1,126 career points and a share of 50th place all-time with Joe Nieuwendyk.

The Kings pulled even less than a minute later as Patrick O'Sullivan's backhander from the slot glanced off Dustin Brown and past Norrena at 2:27, knotting the contest at 2-2. It was Brown's team-leading and career-high 20th goal of the season.

Peca's first goal put Columbus back in front, but O'Sullivan tallied at 8:01 of the third to deadlock the game a third time.

While O'Sullivan headed toward the net from the left corner, Norrena got his stick on the puck, causing it to pop into the air. Continuing his stride, O'Sullivan batted the puck into the net from the doorstep after waiting for it to fall below the crossbar.

"It was back and forth," Fedorov said. "If we had another period, it probably would have been 7-6. It's what offensive players dream of, to get one with every chance."

"They're a hard team to play against," O'Sullivan said. "They're patient, they don't take a lot of penalties and they play well positionally. I thought we stuck to what we wanted to do the majority of the game. We fell a little short, but there were some positives, so we can build on that."

Boll also had two assists and Norrena made 30 saves for the Blue Jackets, who improved to 5-8-1 all-time at the Staples Center.

Jean-Sebastien Aubin yielded three goals on 12 shots before being pulled in favor of LaBarbera, who turned aside 15 shots.

"I thought tonight we limited their offense, were very direct and directed more chances than they did," said Los Angeles coach Marc Crawford, whose club has lost four in a row. "We had a game plan and we should be getting results."