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Norrena, Fedorov lead Blue Jackets to third straight win

Dec 10, 2006 - 4:06 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Frederik Norrena did not have to record another shutout to keep the Columbus Blue Jackets on the right track.

Norrena made 24 saves after recording two consecutive blankings and Sergei Fedorov had two goals and an assist as the Blue Jackets notched their season-high third straight win, a 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues.

Playing his first NHL season after spending more than a decade in Finland and Sweden, the 33-year-old Norrena had stopped 63 shots in back-to-back shutouts over Edmonton and Colorado.

After making 10 saves in the first period Saturday, Norrena allowed Bill Guerin's 12th goal during a 5-on-3 power play the second, ending a franchise-record scoreless streak of 166 minutes, 6 seconds. It proved to be the only tally surrendered by the Finn, who raised his record to 4-4-0.

"Things came together," Norrena said. "Now, we score some goals and get the lead. It (has) been pretty nice to play out there."

With 26 seconds left in the first session, Fedorov took captain Adam Foote's pass and slid the puck under sprawling netminder Jason Bacashihua for his sixth goal of the campaign and a 2-0 lead.

Fedorov added his second goal of the game and 450th career midway through the third period, taking a feed from Anson Carter and unleashing a quick wrist shot past Bacashihua. It completed the former Hart Trophy winner's second multi-goal game of the season.

"It (is) just great to see this team winning and being rewarded for playing so well," Fedorov said.

Columbus scored first with 3:03 remaining in the opening period while Blues right wing Dan Hinote was off for hooking. Rick Nash made a cross-crease feed to Fredrik Modin, who put a shot by Bacashihua's right pad for his eighth goal.

Foote netted his first goal of the season midway through the second period on a wrister from the top of the right faceoff circle off a pass from David Vyborny for a 3-0 lead.

"We were so beat down mentally, and this has been a good change for us," Foote said.

Gilbert Brule netted his third tally late in the second period for Columbus, which defeated St. Louis for the fifth time in the last seven meetings and improved to 4-3-0 under new coach Ken Hitchcock.

"When a coach gets fired and the slate (is) clean, it's really on the players," Hitchcock said. "I said before I took the job I thought there was a good spirit. We needed to gain some confidence by getting a couple of wins."

Bacashihua stopped 19 shots for the Blues, who have lost seven consecutive games and 10 of their last 12. St. Louis is last in the league with 18 points.

"We are running out of answers and it is awful," Guerin said. "There is no excuse for this."

"We didn't capitalize on the power play," said Blues coach Mike Kitchen, whose club was just 1-for-8 with the man advantage. "They get one and score, and then it seemed every mistake we made wound up in the net. We run into adversity and it magnifies. Players are trying but are stepping outside their limitations, and tonight it really cost us."