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Playoff-bound Blue Jackets expect rousing welcome

Apr 11, 2009 - 5:14 AM By Santosh Venkataraman Stats Senior Writer

Minnesota (39-33-9) at Columbus (41-30-10), 7:00 p.m. EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The Columbus Blue Jackets' home finale Saturday night won't be their final appearance of the season at Nationwide Arena.

The Blue Jackets can expect a rousing welcome from their fans as they play their first home game since clinching the franchise's first playoff berth when they meet the Minnesota Wild, who could be playing their last game with coach Jacques Lemaire and star forward Marian Gaborik.

Columbus (41-30-10) assured itself of postseason play with a 4-3 shootout victory at Chicago on Wednesday. The Blue Jackets will become the last NHL team to make their postseason debut.

They still have something to play for in the final game of the regular season. Columbus needs one point to clinch the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference after missing an opportunity to do so Friday in a 3-1 loss at St. Louis.

"It was a tough loss," Columbus captain Rick Nash said. "Now we have to worry about (Saturday) night."

Minnesota (39-33-9) briefly kept its playoff hopes alive Friday with an 8-4 win over Nashville, but was eliminated when Anaheim beat Dallas later that night. It also fueled speculation that Lemaire may not return to coach the Wild.

Lemaire is the only coach the franchise has ever had, and had to be talked into coming back to coach the team for an eighth season in 2008-09. It doesn't seem that he will back for a ninth campaign.

The coach said after Friday's win that he has reached a decision, but would not announce it yet.

"It's not a good thing that I tell you right now," Lemaire said, using his wry sense of humor to try and defuse the situation. "Because you might be depressed if I come back. Maybe you've seen enough of me."

This also could be the final game in a Minnesota uniform for Gaborik, the franchise's scoring leader. He turned down a contract extension from the Wild before this season and will become an unrestricted free agent.

The season has been a difficult one for the Wild with Gaborik missing 65 games due to injury and leading goal scorer Owen Nolan out for 23.

"It's been a little frustrating," Lemaire said. "Because of the injuries, we never had a full team. Maybe a couple of games and that's it. And when it happens to your key players, then it's hard to get the players having a good feel about the group."

The feeling in Columbus is completely different. The Blue Jackets want to avoid finishing seventh or eighth - which would result in first-round matchups with Detroit or San Jose, respectively.

They lost their seventh straight game at St. Louis, though, and coach Ken Hitchcock wasn't pleased with Friday's effort.

"We were just outhustled," he said. "They played well, we didn't."

Minnesota is 2-1 against Columbus this season, with the Blue Jackets winning their lone home matchup 4-2 on Jan. 10.