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Rookies lead Blue Jackets to third straight win

Nov 9, 2008 - 4:42 AM COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- A pair of rookies has the Columbus Blue Jackets riding high.

Derick Brassard snapped a tie early in the second period and Steve Mason stopped 22 shots as the Blue Jackets posted a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

Jason Chimera and Manny Malhotra also tallied for Columbus, which has won a season-high three straight despite injuries to goaltenders Pascal Leclaire (ankle) and Fredrik Norrena (groin).

Captain Jarome Iginla scored the lone goal for Calgary, which rested star goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff for the first time this season.

Columbus, which has earned a point in six straight games (4-0-2), has been getting stellar play from Mason and Brassard.

"Those two guys are carrying us right now, no doubt," Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash said. "They are great young players who are playing unbelievable for us right now. Everyone else feeds off their energy, and that's one reason why we are winning games right now."

Mason won his third straight start since being recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League on November 4. The 20-year-old stopped 34 shots in a 4-3 shootout win over Montreal on Friday.

"Its pretty special, obviously," Mason said. "It hasn't had time to sink in, really, yet. I couldn't ask for a better start. I'm proud of it, but the toughest part of the NHL is sticking around, so I still have to do that."

"He's just solid everywhere right now," Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock said. "There are no holes in his game. There are no easy goals that go in. He's helping us win hockey games."

Brassard is helping them win as well. The NHL Rookie of the Month for October, Brassard leads all first-year players with 13 points.

In this one, the 21-year-old put the Blue Jackets on top, 2-1, when he took a chip pass from defenseman Mike Commodore on the right wing, split a pair of defenders and beat backup netminder Curtis McElhinney at 2:57 of the second period.

"I was coming pretty hard," Brassard said. "The defensemen pinched me and I just lifted the puck. I saw I had the open space, I had the breakaway, so I just took it and shot low blocker side."

Brassard's tally came just 1:52 after Iginla had knotted the game at 1-1 with a wrist shot from the slot that beat Mason to the right side.

"We had a good chance on the power play," Iginla said. "Chimera lost his stick and we were able to control the puck, and I was able to get the puck through."

Malhotra scored midway through the third period for the final margin. After blocking a shot by defenseman Cory Sarich and skating down the ice, Malhotra unleashed a blast from the right faceoff dot that found its way under McElhinney's glove arm at 8:37.

"I don't know if it was a tough game to play," Calgary coach Mike Keenan said. "The chances were fairly even. They capitalized on some errors that we made, and that was the difference in the game."

McElhinney stopped 25 shots in his sixth career start.

"Curtis had a good game, considering he hadn't played for quite some time," Keenan said. "He was very solid. I found that he had a good, solid handle on tonight's game. We just couldn't produce much more."