Columbus Blue Jackets

There were no surprises when the Flyers' protected list for the June 23 expansion draft was released by the NHL. As was reported in yesterday's Daily News, the Flyers didn't protect winger Keith Jones, figuring his balky left knee and the $3.6 million he is owed over the next two seasons would keep him safe from the Minnesota Wild or the Columbus Blue Jackets, set to begin play in October. "We think expansion teams won't take him; we gambled that they wouldn't," Clarke said.

The Flyers were scheduled to have former Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen in for a physical on Sunday and planned to sign the native of Oslo, Norway, if he passed, the Delaware County Daily Times reported Sunday. With Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren on vacation, a team spokesman was unable to confirm yesterday that the unrestricted free agent had been in town. The 6-foot-2, 211-pound Tollefsen is a four-year veteran who was taken by the Blue Jackets in the third round of the 2002 NHL entry draft.

Nikolai Zherdev scored twice within 4 minutes late in the third period - one on a highlight-reel move that provided the go-ahead goal - and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the visiting St. Louis Blues, 6-4. With the score tied at 3-3, Zherdev swooped into the offensive zone and passed the puck backward between his legs before wristing a shot from the high slot that beat goaltender Hannu Toivonen with 5 minutes, 57 seconds left in the period....

R.J. Umberger scored his second goal of the game on a power play 1 minute, 45 seconds into overtime to give the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets a 5-4 win against the Washington Capitals yesterday. The Capitals played much of the game without Alex Ovechkin, who left early in the second period with an "upper body injury" and did not return. Blue Jackets left wing Raffi Torres scored twice in the final 6 1/2 minutes of regulation, including the tying goal with 23 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Brendan Morrison was credited with the tiebreaking goal with 6 minutes, 11 seconds remaining in the third period, and the Vancouver Canucks held on to end their five-game skid with a 3-2 triumph over the Columbus Blue Jackets last night. Morrison's pass struck Columbus forward Manny Malhotra and caromed into the Blue Jackets' net, snapping a third-period tie. Mattias Ohlund and Anson Carter also scored for the Canucks. Ron Hainsey and Malhotra scored for the Blue Jackets.

Adam Foote, a defensive cornerstone of two championship teams in Colorado, signed a 3-year contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets yesterday. Foote, 34, the highest-profile player to sign with the 5-year-old Blue Jackets, was lured to Columbus by the promise that general manager Doug MacLean would improve the team. Columbus failed to reach the playoffs in its first four NHL seasons. Foote signed a 3-year, $13.8 million contract Monday night with the Blue Jackets, who have often come up short because of a lack of dependable defensemen.

Rick Nash, rookie Ryan Johansen, and Fedor Tyutin each scored for the host Columbus Blue Jackets in a 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night, only their second win of the season. James Wisniewski added two assists for the Blue Jackets. Steve Mason turned-aside 18 shots, including three key saves with the Ducks on the power play and pressing for the tying goal in the second period. Elsewhere: Colin Greening and Chris Neil scored power-play goals and the host Ottawa Senators extended their winning streak to six with a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Last season, the Columbus Blue Jackets made the playoffs for the first time. This season, they are 22-27-9, 14th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference. So, once again, Ken Hitchcock is a former coach. Yesterday, the Blue Jackets fired the former Flyers coach, and elevated assistant Claude Noel on an interim basis. General manager Scott Howson announced the firing a day after the struggling Blue Jackets blew a 1-0 lead in a listless 5-1 loss at Colorado. "It wasn't working," Howson said.

John Madden scored a controversial goal to help the New Jersey Devils overcome a third-period deficit and beat the host Columbus Blue Jackets, 2-1, last night. With the game tied at 1-1, David Clarkson's shot appeared to be covered by Columbus goalie Steve Mason for a second or two before the puck slid free. Madden beat defenseman Fedor Tyutin to the loose puck while the Jackets' other defenseman, Marc Methot, was pushed into the goal post and dislodged it an instant before Madden jammed the puck across the goal line.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - John Madden scored a controversial goal to help the New Jersey Devils overcome a third-period deficit and beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 2-1, last night. Kevin Weekes had 26 saves for the Devils. Manny Malhotra scored for Columbus. Rookie Steve Mason had 26 saves in his first loss to an Eastern Conference team. With the game tied at 1, the outcome teetered on one play. David Clarkson's shot appeared to be covered by Mason for a second or two before the puck slid free.

After weeks of lopsided losses and blown leads, the Columbus Blue Jackets have fired second-year coach Scott Arniel. General manager Scott Howson announced the firing Monday. Howson said things had spiraled out of control recently. "We were playing pretty good [after a bad start] until the middle of December and we were going in the right direction, but it's gone off the rails since then," he said on the team's website of the Blue Jackets' 2-8-1 mark since Dec. 15. The Blue Jackets have blown eight games in which they led heading into the final period, the most in the NHL by a wide margin.

Rick Nash, rookie Ryan Johansen, and Fedor Tyutin each scored for the host Columbus Blue Jackets in a 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night, only their second win of the season. James Wisniewski added two assists for the Blue Jackets. Steve Mason turned-aside 18 shots, including three key saves with the Ducks on the power play and pressing for the tying goal in the second period. Elsewhere: Colin Greening and Chris Neil scored power-play goals and the host Ottawa Senators extended their winning streak to six with a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

RICK NASH, rookie Ryan Johansen and Fedor Tyutin each scored for the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 3-1 victory over the visiting Anaheim Ducks last night, only their second win of the season. James Wisniewski added two assists for the Blue Jackets, while Steve Mason turned aside 18 shots in goal, including three key saves with the Ducks on the power play and pressing for the tying goal in the second period. Bobby Ryan scored for the Ducks, who have lost five of six and are 1-2-1 on a 13-day, seven-game road trip.

When the New York Rangers lost at Boston 2 Sundays ago, their playoff hopes were all but lost. The deficit was big, the games were few, and a road trip loomed. But the bumbling Rangers got hot. They routed the New York Islanders at home and raced to a 4-0-1 start on the six-game trip that made believers again that a fifth straight trip to the playoffs was possible. A loss at Buffalo on Tuesday night dashed the spirits again. New York, however, shook that off 1 day later and began its final three-game push with a 5-1 victory over the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs last night.

Everywhere there were players laughing and smiling. Along the back wall of the dressing room, Steve Mason was wearing a goofy-looking hard hat, a symbol that maybe the Columbus Blue Jackets were ready to finally laugh away their troubles and get down to the work of turning their season around. Mason had 22 saves, R.J. Umberger scored an empty-netter while sliding on his gut and the Blue Jackets beat the visiting Dallas Stars, 2-1, last night in Claude Noel's coaching debut. "It's a good way to add some humor into this," Mason said, grinning while sporting the all-white construction hat with a Blue Jackets sticker slapped on the front.

Last season, the Columbus Blue Jackets made the playoffs for the first time. This season, they are 22-27-9, 14th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference. So, once again, Ken Hitchcock is a former coach. Yesterday, the Blue Jackets fired the former Flyers coach, and elevated assistant Claude Noel on an interim basis. General manager Scott Howson announced the firing a day after the struggling Blue Jackets blew a 1-0 lead in a listless 5-1 loss at Colorado. "It wasn't working," Howson said.

R.J. Umberger scored his second goal of the game on a power play 1 minute, 45 seconds into overtime to give the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets a 5-4 win against the Washington Capitals yesterday. The Capitals played much of the game without Alex Ovechkin, who left early in the second period with an "upper body injury" and did not return. Blue Jackets left wing Raffi Torres scored twice in the final 6 1/2 minutes of regulation, including the tying goal with 23 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

The Flyers were scheduled to have former Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen in for a physical on Sunday and planned to sign the native of Oslo, Norway, if he passed, the Delaware County Daily Times reported Sunday. With Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren on vacation, a team spokesman was unable to confirm yesterday that the unrestricted free agent had been in town. The 6-foot-2, 211-pound Tollefsen is a four-year veteran who was taken by the Blue Jackets in the third round of the 2002 NHL entry draft.

After three easy victories, the Detroit Red Wings found themselves in a dogfight in Game 4 of their first-round playoff matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Luckily, the defending Stanley Cup champions saved up one last bit of magic - and got some help from a controversial call. Johan Franzen scored on a power play with 46.6 seconds left, giving the visiting Red Wings a 6-5 victory and a series sweep over the Blue Jackets last night. The call that led to the man-advantage was hotly disputed by the Blue Jackets, who were assessed a bench minor for having too many men on the ice. Replays showed that Fredrik Modin came on the ice and handled the puck while Jake Voracek was still a few feet from the bench.

Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins   Ed Moran: Flyers in 7 Rich Hofmann: Flyers in 7 Sam Donnellon: Pittsburgh in 6 Ed Barkowitz: Pittsburgh in 6   Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens   Ed Moran: Boston in 5 Rich Hofmann: Boston in 5 Sam Donnellon: Boston in 6 Ed Barkowitz: Boston in 7   Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers   Ed Moran: Washington in 6 Rich Hofmann:...