tonight," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "A lot

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Blue Jackets took advantage of the Minnesota Wild, who were coming off an emotional game a day earlier. The Blue Jackets got goals from Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and R.J. Umberger and Curtis McElhinney posted his first shutout since 2011 in a 4-0 victory on Friday night. "We talked about them playing last night and there was definitely an emphasis to jump all over them," Umberger said, referring to the Wilds 4-3 home win over Chicago. "We were moving pretty good." The Blue Jackets had not played since Tuesday, filling the time with two hard, full practices in which they were able to work on several problem areas. Minnesotas Zach Parise knew his team didnt have its heart in the game. "We were just flat and not crisp," he said. "We were pretty brutal through the neutral zone and couldnt get anything generated." Wild coach Mike Yeo didnt want to use his clubs first home win over the Blackhawks since 2008 as an excuse, but still thought that was the root of his clubs problems. "We played right into that (being tired), too, turning pucks over," he said. "We were on our heels, slow reacting, slow getting to places. We were not pressing the way we needed to be." It was the Blue Jackets second win in a row, the first time theyve won back-to-back games since Oct. 25. They did it in their first game without last years Vezina Trophy winner as the NHLs top goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, who will miss the next month or so with a strained groin. McElhinney made 20 saves in his first shutout since Feb. 5, 2011, while with the Anaheim Ducks. "Its a good feeling for me to step in here again and have another shutout game, another win," he said, referring to the Blue Jackets consecutive shutouts. "Hopefully, its the start of something good and we can keep it going." Foligno and Umberger each also had assists and Ryan Johansen added two assists to stretch his points streak to four games. The Blue Jackets have been struggling with injuries. In addition to Bobrovsky, top offensive threat Marian Gaborik (sprained knee) is out for another two weeks and top off-season free-agent signing Nathan Horton (shoulder surgery) has yet to play in a Columbus sweater and likely wont be ready for at least another month. McElhinneys third NHL shutout came in his 78th game. After a scoreless first period, the Blue Jackets took over. At the 1:17 mark of the second, Atkinson took a pass from Dubinsky and wristed a shot from the top of the right circle that Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom didnt appear to see. He barely moved as the puck beat him high and near his right shoulder. "Some games its tougher to swallow the puck when you dont see it," he said. The Blue Jackets went on their first power play when Matt Cooke went off for hooking. Columbus soon took advantage on the man advantage. Johansen passed to Umberger for a shot from a hard angle that handcuffed Backstrom, with Johansen then following the puck to get a whack at it on the rebound. Before the puck could be cleared, Foligno found the net on his second attempt from the right doorstep at the 5:40 mark. "We were able to maintain our energy and continue to push," Foligno said. "You saw great efforts from everybody tonight -- and Curtis McElhinney shut the door." The Wild had a prime chance to get back in the game when they had 1:13 of a 5-on-3 advantage midway through the second period. But McElhinney smothered a hard slap shot from the left point by Jason Pominville and then later appeared to stop a high shot by Zach Parise off his mask. "The big thing was that 5 on 3," Columbus coach Todd Richards said. "That was a critical point of the game. Curtis made probably three great saves for us and our (penalty) killers did a great job." Columbus was still controlling the play early in the third when, on a 3-on-3 rush, Jenner wristed a shot from the top of the left circle that eluded Backstrom high on his glove side. The goal, at the 4:38 mark, was the rookies third of the season. Umberger closed the scoring at the 9:05 mark when, while trailing the play, he benefited from a nifty feed from Foligno. Foligno had only one defender to beat but instead whipped a blind pass to Umberger who had virtually an empty net. Notes: The Blue Jackets improved to 35-0 under Richards when leading after two periods. ... It was the Wilds third loss in a row on the road. ... Minnesota has been shut out in two of its past three games. Scott Stevens Jersey . In the opening game of his fourth-round match at the U.S. Open, the owner of 17 major titles got passed at the net twice, sailed a backhand long, then missed two forehands to get broken. Martin Brodeur Jersey .com) - It may just be the right place and the right opponent for the Detroit Red Wings to snap their longest losing streak of the season. http://www.devilssale.com/ .com) - The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics both entered Wednesday nights game riding lengthy losing streaks. Ken Daneyko Jersey .com) - James Harden put the Houston Rockets on his back and willed them to an overtime victory on Thursday. Jamie Langenbrunner Jersey . on the 15-day disabled Monday list because of a strained right hamstring.DALLAS - The Brooklyn Nets waited until they got to the locker room to dump ice water on coach Jason Kidd after his victorious return to Dallas. They presumably didnt want to make a mess of the court where he was essentially a coach between the lines for the Mavericks when they won the franchises only title in 2011. Joe Johnson scored 22 points, including the tying layup in regulation and the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime, to lead the Nets past the Mavericks 107-104 Sunday night in Kidds first game as a coach in the city where his career started in 1994 and reached its peak in his second stint 17 years later. The Nets swept the two-game season series with Dallas in their first year under Kidd, who was also celebrating his 41st birthday. "Its a little wet in there," Kidd said, warning of the pile of ice surrounded by towels in the middle of the locker room floor. "You guys be careful. I dont want any media getting hurt." Marcus Thornton had 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for the Nets, who won their fourth straight game and beat a Western Conference team for the fifth straight time. Monta Ellis led Dallas with 32 points, but Dirk Nowitzki finished with 10 on one of his toughest shooting nights of the season. Nowitzki hit his first shot of overtime after going 1-of-10 in regulation, but the Mavericks couldnt make any shots until it was too late in overtime. Nowitzki was 2-of-12 from the field, finishing below 42 per cent for the third time in four games as the Mavericks dropped to 2-2 on a franchise-record eight-game homestand. Both losses have been in overtime, and now Dallas faces back-to-back games against teams with much more secure playoff futures in Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Clippers. "This is not the time to panic," said Ellis, who had four assists and four turnovers. "We still have four more home games. We are going to try to get these four." After a layup that tied the score with 9 seconds left in regulation, Johnson put the Nets up 96-93 early in overtime with a 3-pointer and answered a pair of free throws from Nowitzki with a jumper. After another miss by Nowitzki, Shaun Livingston stepped in front of a pass fromm Shawn Marion and went the distance for a layup and Brooklyns biggest lead at 100-95.dddddddddddd Deron Williams and Paul Pierce had 15 points apiece for the Nets. The Mavericks, who led by 14 points after the first quarter and midway through the third, were up four with 44 seconds left in the regulation when Pierce hit two free throws after getting fouled by Marion. After Nowitzki shot an airball on a fadeway, Johnson drove for a layup and a 91-all tie. Ellis missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer in regulation. Sam Dalembert had season highs of 15 rebounds and seven blocks, and he had two huge plays that werent rebounds when he was fouled trying to get the ball and made three of four free throws in the last 1:11. Dalembert scored 12 points. The Mavericks led by 14 after the first quarter and again midway through the third before the Nets made a charge with a 14-0 run to a 73-72 lead on two free throws from Williams. Thornton had consecutive 3-pointers to get Brooklyn within a point. "We just had too many lapses tonight," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "A lot of them were on innocent plays when we had a lead, but, you know, in a one-possession game, those things come back to you." Devin Harris, who was traded to the Nets when Kidd returned to Dallas in 2008, came off the bench much earlier than usual after Jose Calderon was knocked out of the game just 45 seconds in by an inadvertent elbow to the face from Mason Plumlee. Calderon didnt return, and Carlisle said his status is uncertain. Harris hit three 3-pointers in the first 6 minutes and led the Mavericks with nine points in the first half. He finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a season-high 40 minutes. NOTES: Nets F Andrei Kirilenko left in the first half with a mild left ankle sprain and didnt return. ... The Mavericks showed a clever "Shawn Marion training video" making light of an unconventional shooting style where he short-arms the ball with his right hand. Marion was laughing when he came off the bench after the timeout. ... Nets F Mirza Teletovic had nine points after getting a career-high 34 in 107-106 win at Brooklyn in late January. ' ' '