Chimera's OT goal lifts Blue Jackets over Blackhawks

Hockey Betting Lines

01/17/2007 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Chimera scored 2:31 into overtime to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.

Fredrik Modin, Sergei Fedorov and Rostislav Klesla also scored for the Blue Jackets, who won for the first time in five games (1-3-1). Fredrik Norrena started in goal for Columbus, but was pulled midway through the second period after he allowed three goals on 15 shots. Ty Conklin made 12 saves in relief while Joe Motzko added his first career goal for the Blue Jackets, who will visit Nashville on Thursday before a three-game homestand.

Bryan Smolinski scored two goals for the struggling Blackhawks, who fell to 0-6-1 in their last seven games overall. Patrick Sharp and Jimmy Vandermeer both added a goal in the losing effort.

Chicago goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin allowed five goals on 18 shots.

After Smolinski tied the score at 4-4 with a late third-period goal, the contest went into overtime. Midway through the extra session, the Blue Jackets gained a 3-on-1 rush and cashed in. Chimera hustled over the blue line down the right-wing side and fired home a wrist shot from inside the circle as the visitors skated off with the win.

"Our line was out there when they tied the game, so it was nice to win this see-saw battle with hard work," said Chimera.

Columbus improved to 3-2 against the Hawks this season and also beat their Central Division foes by the same 5-4 margin in Chicago in early October.

Modin gave Columbus a 4-3 lead with 5:56 remaining in regulation when his wrist shot from the top of the left circle made its way in through traffic.

However, at 18:27, Smolinski's second goal of the game -- which was scored in almost exactly the same fashion as his first -- sent the game into overtime. A wraparound clearing attempt by the Blue Jackets saw the puck take a strange bounce along the left half-wall, stay in the Chicago offensive zone and it ended up on the stick of Martin Havlat along the rear boards. Havlat quickly fed out to the low slot for Smolinski's a successful one-timer.

"We had a two-goal lead and mental mistakes cost us," said Chicago's Martin Lapointe. "It's frustrating."

The opening period saw the teams trade goals within a 33-second span.

First, at 4:25, Fedorov's 14th goal gave the visitors the lead. A redirection one-timer in the low slot by Nikolai Zherdev was saved by Khabibulin but the puck trickled behind him and sat on the goal line for several seconds. After several pokes, Fedorov finally pushed the puck over the goal line.

Only 33 seconds later, though, the Blackhawks answered on Sharp's seventh goal. Tony Salmelainen held control along the rear left boards and passed to Sharp, who corralled the disc beneath the left circle and fired a wrister that Norrena saved. But Sharp followed his shot and lit the lamp on the rebound.

Before the midpoint of the second period, Chicago scored twice for a two-goal edge.

Smolinski scored at the 4:37 mark after strong forechecking by linemate Karl Stewart, whose bodycheck along the rear boards squirted the puck free and Havlat swooped in. Havlat then fed a backhand pass from behind the net near the left post out to the low slot for an easy one-timer by Smolinski that flew past Norrena.

With 10:38 to go in the second, Vandermeer's first goal of the campaign made it 3-1. Tuomo Ruutu held the puck along the outer rim of the left circle on a 3-on-2 rush and left a soft drop pass for Vandermeer, who wound up and fired home a one-timer from the high left slot.

That sent Norrena to the bench in favor of Conklin, and the Blue Jackets responded positively to the change with a pair of goals inside the final six minutes of the stanza.

"It really turned the game's momentum around," said Conklin of the goaltender change. "I was surprised because I didn't think the goals (that Norrena allowed) were that bad."

After a one-timer from the point by Klesla beat Khabibulin with 5:58 remaining, Motzko's first NHL goal -- a blazing wrist shot from inside the left circle at 15:22 -- tied it up.

Game Notes

This marked the fourth time in franchise history that the Jackets have played on this date of January 16. They improved to 4-0 in such games...Chicago fell to 10-12-2 at home this season...The Blue Jackets have won nine of the last 14 games against the Hawks...It was Chimera's ninth goal of the season...All the goals in the game were scored at even-strength. Chicago ended 0-for-3 on the power play while the Jackets had just one chance with the extra skater...Attendance was 10,623.