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Nash scores shootout winner for Blue Jackets

Nov 14, 2009 - 3:51 AM COLUMBUS, Ohio(AP) -- Rick Nash and the Columbus Blue Jackets put a blowout loss behind them in a hurry.

Nash scored the winning shootout goal and also had a goal in regulation, and Mathieu Garon stopped both Anaheim shooters in the tiebreaker to give Columbus a 3-2 victory Friday night.

Kristian Huselius also scored in the shootout and had a goal and an assist for Columbus, which rebounded from a 9-1 loss to the Red Wings on Wednesday night - the Blue Jackets' worst home loss in franchise history.

"We competed really hard," Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock said. "It was a big time game. We worked a lot harder and the level of determination was 10 times better than it was against Detroit."

Antoine Vermette added two assists and the backup Garon stepped in for Steve Mason and stopped 32 shots to win in his first home start. He improved to 17-4 all-time in shootouts.

Bobby Ryan and Todd Marchant scored for Anaheim, which has lost four straight on the road. Ryan Getzlaf had two assists, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 27 saves in his first start since Oct. 24.

"We are desperate for a win on the road," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "I didn't think we played that poor a hockey game. But we will take the point and move on. It's not easy to win on the road."

In the shootout, Nash lost his balance but still was able to roof a shot over Giguere while leaning back on one leg.

"I'm sure he didn't know what to do," Nash said. "He thought I was going to fall. Luckily enough I put it in."

In overtime, Columbus was assessed a bench minor for having too many men on the ice, but the Ducks - 0-for-11 on the power play the last two games - failed to convert. Then Ryan Whitney took a boarding penalty to nullify the advantage.

"We missed a chance in overtime when we had the four-on-three," Carlyle said. "We didn't really create much from it."

The Ducks gained the early momentum with Jason Chimera in the penalty box serving consecutive minor penalties, scoring shortly after the second expired.

Getzlaf skated down the right wing into the Columbus zone and zipped a cross-ice pass to Ryan for the one-timer, his seventh, from the left dot to start the scoring at 7:55 of the first. Corey Perry also picked up an assist.

Getzlaf and Perry have scored in 10 consecutive games, the current longest points streaks in the NHL.

"We did a good job staying in this hockey game," Getzlaf said. "We were right there ... unfortunately it didn't come out the way we wanted it to."

The Blue Jackets worked themselves back into the game and Nash drew them even. He took a lead breakaway pass from Huselius and beat Giguere with a slap shot from the left circle at 18:26 for his 13th. Nash has nine goals in the last nine games.

After a Columbus power play ended in the second, Getzlaf jumped out of the penalty box, grabbed the puck and fed Marchant for an easy snap shot from the slot to give Anaheim the lead at 1:45 with his second.

About 4 minutes later, Huselius, back after missing four games with an arm injury, made it 2-2 on the power play with his sixth. Vermette, stationed near the right post, set up the play with a long back-hand pass to Huselius, who wristed a shot from the left circle over a diving Giguere.

"I liked the way we got back into the game," Huselius said. "We were forechecking at all lengths and we turned it around."

Garon made the save of the night late in the period, robbing Getzlaf with a lunging glove save on a nifty back door pass from Teemu Selanne.

"Well, I think that's what we needed," Garon said of the overall effort. "As a team we worked hard, we dominated and we wanted to get back on track and that's what we did tonight."

NOTES: Columbus went 1 for 4 with the man advantage, the Ducks 0 for 5. ... Anaheim D Scott Niedermayer became the 28th defenseman in NHL history to play 1,200 career games. ... The teams skated three-a-side the final 45 seconds of overtime. ... Getzlaf has seven goals and 15 assists in 17 games against Columbus.