Boys basketball | Olentangy Liberty 57, Westerville North 51: Stingy defense lifts Liberty

Derick Brassard had Rick Nash to his right and a career night in front of him. With one rip of the stick, he delivered a much-needed win for the much-maligned Blue Jackets, and he set a pair of personal marks in the process.

After stealing the puck from Anaheim's Cam Fowler in the Blue Jackets' zone, Brassard carried the puck the length of the ice and blasted a slap shot from high in the left faceoff circle to finish a 2-on-1. The puck beat Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller inside the near post and gave the Blue Jackets a 3-2 overtime win before 13,358 in Honda Center.

It was the first two-goal game of Brassard's 245-game NHL career, and also his first overtime game-winner. The club's six-game losing streak (0-5-1) ended with a celebration, as the Blue Jackets' bench emptied to swarm Brassard along the wall.

"On the two-on-one I had Nash, which is a really good option there," Brassard said. "But I trust my shot. I knew I could do it. I just find a way there.

"We had a tough break there in the last game (Wednesday in Los Angeles). But we came out strong. That just shows the character of our team."

Jeff Carter, who returned from a 10-game absence with a shoulder injury, also scored for the Blue Jackets, his 11th of the season.

Curtis Sanford had 33 saves to improve to 9-12-4. He allowed a goal on the Ducks second shot of the game, only 1:46 into the first period. After that, he was in command.

"We battled tonight. We scratched and clawed," Blue Jackets interim coach Todd Richards said. "We made it harder on ourselves than I think it needed to be at times."

Richards, with the second part of that quote, was referring to the second period, which was the turning point of the game.

The Blue Jackets took five straight minor penalties: Derek Dorsett (unsportsmanlike conduct, 2:29), Vinny Prospal (hooking, 5:21), Colton Gillies (tripping, 7:42), too many men (16:03) and Fedor Tyutin (delay of game, 18:26).

Somehow, with the NHL's worst penalty kill -- both overall and on the road -- the Blue Jackets killed off four of the five penalties, keeping the game within a goal.

Brassard made it 1-1 at 14:47, snapping a six-game streak without a goal. The puck was sent on goal by Blue Jackets rookie John Moore, and Rick Nash was there to battle for the rebound. His off-balance sweep across the slot found Brassard, who only needed to finish.

The Ducks did cash in on one of the power plays. Teemu Selanne, who had both of Anaheim's goals, tied into a one-timer from the left circle. It was vintage Selanne. He found space, waited for teammate Corey Perry to feed him the puck, and simply blistered it inside the near post.

"I don't think we played that well," Selanne said. "That is what bothers me most. Especially on the power play in the second period, we could have had the game right there."

The Blue Jackets scored the equalizer early in the third with their own power play goal.

Antoine Vermette threw a blind, back-hand pass into the slot, a move he has tried numerous times this season with mixed results. This time, though, it worked. Perfectly. Carter skated into his pass and scored off his backhand before Hiller could scramble back into position.

Welcome back, Carter.

Both teams have beauty chances in overtime. At 1:51, Vermette was set up wonderfully by R.J. Umberger, but got stoned by Hiller. At 2:33, Anaheim's Cam Fowler unleased a show from the left circle that Sanford snared with his glove, a nifty flash of leather.

Fowler was back on the ice a shift later, and Brassard forced him into a turnover near the half-way in the Blue Jackets zone, then raced down the ice while Fowler gave chase.

Before Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin could drag out the play -- a good defenseman knows you always take away the pass on a 2-on-1 -- Brassard reached back and blistered a shot past Hiller.

"After the way the last game ended and the way we played here last time (a 7-4 loss on Jan. 8), it's obviously nice to come and prove to ourselves that we can win in this building," Sanford said. "We played a strong game against a pretty offensively-potent team."

Side dishes:

-- In case you missed the earlier blog entry, goaltender Mark Dekanich has surgery earlier this week and is out of the rest of season.

-- D Brett Lebda left the game after the first period and did not return. He has a hand injury. More will be known after the club flies back to Columbus on Saturday.

-- The Blue Jackets improved to 10-9-2 all-time in Anaheim, the most wins in any building outside the Central Division. Only once in 11 seasons have they gone an entire season without getting at least a point in Anaheim.

-- Rick Nash leads the Blue Jackets with six OT goals.

-- Teemu Selanne has scored 655 games. Ponder that.

-- Double double, animal style.

-- Aaron Portzline

aportzline@dispatch.com

twitter: @aportzline

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Boys basketball | Olentangy Liberty 57, Westerville North 51: Stingy defense lifts Liberty