Nashville pulls past Columbus

Scott Walker scored twice for the Blue Jackets.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Scott Walker looked like he'd never left.
Walker scored twice after missing six games with a groin injury to lead the Nashville Predators to a 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night.
Walker had three goals in his last four games before the injury.
"Stats like that are interesting," Walker said. "At the beginning of the year I was working hard and nothing was going in. It's a funny game. You have to be mentally tough. You can't get discouraged. You have to know the chances are coming and that they are going to go in."
In the first period, Walker scored on a five-on-three power play to give the Predators a 2-1 lead. He shot the puck across the crease from low in the left circle to beat goaltender Marc Denis. Walker added a short-handed goal at 5:48 of the third period.
Nashville coach Barry Trotz is happy to have Walker back on the ice.
"Scott gives us another veteran who has gone through a lot of experiences," Trotz said. "He has attention to detail. On the bench he was explaining to some guys how important it was not to let up on the power play. He is a catalyst-type of guy."
Back even
The Predators are back at .500 for the first time in more than a month. They earned their third straight home victory and are 6-2 in their last eight games.
"For us, it's very important to be at .500," Trotz said. "Our players are tired of being mediocre. And the only ones that can change that are the guys in that room.
"The players want to do well. They want to take it to the next level. They want to get to the playoffs. That's a great tool to have as a coach when you have everyone thinking that way."
The Blue Jackets, winless on the road this season, struck first when Rick Nash scored on a one-timer from the slot 1:44 into the game. Adam Hall tied it for Nashville later in the first.
Vladimir Orszagh scored early in the third period to give Nashville a 3-1 lead.
"They were pretty aggressive," Columbus center Todd Marchant said. "We knew that would be the case going in. We couldn't get anything generated and, as a result, we fell behind. We have to continue to learn from our mistakes."
Manny Malhotra closed out the scoring for the Blue Jackets.