"NHL overtime, with one less skater per team and, thus, bountiful room on the ice, was made for Blue Jackets center Derick Brassard.
Brassard carried the puck the length of the ice last night after forcing a turnover in his own zone, then scored on a slap shot from high in the left faceoff circle to give the Blue Jackets a 3-2 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks before 13,358 at the Honda Center.
It was Brassard's second goal of the game and snapped the Blue Jackets' six-game losing streak.
Jeff Carter, returning to the lineup after a 10-game absence because of a shoulder injury, scored the Blue Jackets' other goal. Goaltender Curtis Sanford finished with 33 saves.
The Blue Jackets hadn't had a lead for 337 minutes, 52 seconds before Brassard's goal in OT, and the rest of the club raced off the bench to mob him in the corner.
The Ducks will look back on this game with regret. They had chances earlier in the game, especially the second period, to take control, but never did.
The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, seemed to gain confidence as the night moved along.
It was a thrilling end to a rough trip. On Tuesday, the Blue Jackets were blown away 6-0 at San Jose. On Wednesday, they lost 3-2 at Los Angeles, thanks to an error with the arena clock.
Anaheim took a 1-0 lead only 1:46 into the game when a shot by Ducks defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky appeared to catch Sanford by surprise. He made the initial stop, but the puck trickled through his pads."
