A Different Look

After six seasons in playoff purgatory, Rick Nash and his Blue Jackets buds are trying to convince the good folks of Columbus there's a new game in town.

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It might not just be a Buckeye town anymore.

On a recent Sunday in Columbus, Ohio, a little more than 13,000 fans came to Nationwide Arena to watch the Blue Jackets take on the Blues. If the size of the crowd was something of a disappointment—the building has a capacity of 18,136—the hockey was anything but. Late in the second period, Jackets wing Nikolai Zherdev skated across the blue line and, with a backhand flick, lobbed the puck high and deep into the slot to linemate Rick Nash. Nash swatted the biscuit down with his big paw, watched two D's slide helplessly by and, before you could say Ron Tugnutt, went inside left post. Goal.

As the happy fans left the building after the 3-0 win, which extended Columbus' unbeaten regulation streak to six games, it was hard not to notice that there were a lot more fans dressed in Buckeyes colors than in Blue Jackets gear. Fair or not, this is the reality for the local NHL team. In the race for popularity in Columbus, Ohio State University is Secretariat while the Jackets are Sham. Even in their own building. Of course, there hasn't been much worth watching on the Nationwide sheet. In their six seasons, the Jackets have yet to make a postseason, finishing 19, 37, 23, 29, 21 and 23 points out of the last playoff spot in the West. The best thing you could say about them is that they've been consistent. The second-best thing? Nash.

The first overall pick in 2002, the 23-year-old left wing has already led the league in goals, tying the Flames' Jarome Iginla and Thrashers' Ilya Kovalchuk with 41 in 2003-04. But as Nash quickly points out, "I was a minus-35 that year, so what did my 41 really mean?" It means that scoring has always been Nash's thing; pretty much the only thing. With his size (6'4'', 215 pounds), strength and touch, two-way hockey has generally meant one thing for the man who once tallied 115 points as a 15-year-old in a 34-game season: He shoots, he scores.

Last season, though, something changed in Columbus. The Blue Jackets were once again in the cellar, but their record over the last 62 games, 28—29—5, was almost .500. And Nash's minus-8 was almost respectable. The Blue Jackets were—almost—worthy of attention.

Credit Ken Hitchcock, who replaced Jackets coach Gerard Gallant 20 games into the season. Hitchcock, who was scouting for the Flyers after being fired as their coach a month earlier, saw the new gig as a real opportunity. "With the veterans we had and the potential of the young guys, I really felt like we could turn this around quickly," says Hitchcock, who helmed the Stars to a Stanley Cup in 1999. And one of the first things Hitchcock did when he took over was to preach the Gospel of Two-Way Hockey to Nash. "If your best player commits at both ends," the coach says, "everyone else falls in line."

That's the theory, anyway, and so far it's working out quite nicely in Ohio's largest city. Columbus has the NHL's fourth-best goals- against average—goalie Pascal Leclaire's eight wins include five shutouts—and the club leads the league in penalty killing percentage (91.1). Nash is near the top of the NHL in goals scored, too. "What he's meant to this team and our start is incredible," says new GM Scott Howson. "Rick's expected to be a leader on this team now. He's embraced it." Adds Hitchcock: "There's nothing Rick Nash does that surprises me anymore."

What would be a nice surprise for everyone in town who cares about hockey is a boost in the number of locals who check the BCS rankings after checking the Western Conference Central Division standings. Says WBNS radio host Mike Ricordati: "I'll be interested to see—after football is over and if the Blue Jackets are still winning—if we decide to embrace them. This town has had crazy standards of success. People expect to win here."

Ah yes, the W word. For the Blue Jackets, there are no seven national titles. Or six Heisman Trophies. There's no dot the I, Woody's tie, Tressel's vest or Michigan sucks. It's 117 years of tradition versus six years of … consistency.

But the Jackets may yet catch a break. Thanks to the Fighting Illini, college football may matter a little less in these parts this winter. And the post-Oden OSU hoops program is unranked. Which means that—wait for it—Columbus turns into a hockey town.

Well, almost.

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