Zherdev sparkles but team loses

The Russian got a goal and assist in the Blue Jackets' 4-2 loss to Nashville.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Nikolai Zherdev stole the show even though the Columbus Blue Jackets lost.
Rem Murray, Scott Hartnell, Greg Johnson and Scott Walker scored, and Tomas Vokoun stopped 37 shots in the Nashville Predators' 4-2 victory Thursday night.
But Zherdev, the No. 4 pick in last summer's draft who left Russia on Sunday, scored his first NHL goal, assisted on Rick Nash's 17th goal of the season and had another goal disallowed.
"I feel a little bit sorry for myself with the first goal being disallowed," Zherdev said through an interpreter. "So I tried to prove to everybody that I could score. I tried very hard and finally I scored my first goal."
Finally? It took him only about 25 minutes of ice time.
Standing ovation
Zherdev was met with a standing ovation when he skated to the bench during a break late in the game.
He appeared to score a spectacular goal at 12:31 of the first -- flying through the air to wrist a shot past Vokoun. But NHL officials in Toronto, watching the video, ruled the goal was off its pegs and waved it off -- even though it was a Predators defenseman who knocked it loose.
"They go to Toronto on everything -- everything has to be done out of Toronto," Columbus coach Doug MacLean said. "I don't want to comment on it. It's crazy."
Nashville extended its franchise-record winning streak to six, and won for the fourth straight time on the road. The Predators are 10-2-0-0 in their last 12 games.
The Predators, now 14-10-1-0, didn't win their 14th game last season until Jan. 18.
Broke open game
Nashville broke open a scoreless game with two goals in a 21-second span of the second period.
Jason York's blast from the top of the right circle was redirected by Murray for his fourth goal of the season. Before that could even be announced, David Legwand assisted on Hartnell's ninth of the year.
Johnson's goal came on a two-on-one rush in the third period.
"In the second period, we played with some emotion and came out with some fire," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "That was where we stole the game from them."
Zherdev scored on a shot from the left hash with 5:32 remaining to cut the Nashville lead to 3-1. Nash then redirected a Zherdev shot with 20.7 seconds to go, to narrow the lead to one before Walker scored five seconds later into an empty net.