COLUMBUS Walker's 81st goal ties Predators' career mark

Nashville scored a season-high six goals to defeat the Blue Jackets, 6-4.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Scott Walker didn't even know he had made some history.
Walker tied Nashville's record for career goals, leading the Predators to a 6-4 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets Thursday night.
"I didn't even know how many I had, but that's great," he said after his 81st goal in a Predators uniform tied him with Cliff Ronning.
Nashville's Wyatt Smith scored his first goal in more than a year. Kimmo Timonen, Martin Erat and Vladimir Orszagh had a goal and an assist apiece, and Marek Zidlicky and Andreas Johansson had three assists each.
Scott Hartnell also scored, and Zidlicky tied a career high with his three assists.
Most goals this season
The Predators' six goals were the most scored by the team this season. They ran their record to 13-0-0-1 when they score at least four times.
"You get a little momentum going and our guys stepped up for each other," Walker said. "Guys that usually don't do that stuff."
Trevor Letowski matched his career high with two goals and three points for Columbus, and Geoff Sanderson and Tyler Wright added goals. Manny Malhotra had a career-best three points on three assists.
Each team had 31 shots and scored on half of its six power-play attempts. Columbus also had two goals waved off, including Todd Marchant's score when the referee prematurely blew his whistle with the puck still loose on the ice. Columbus coach Gerard Gallant said that official Chris Rooney apologized. The goal would have tied the game at 2-2 after the first period.
"If they would have counted that goal it would have made a big difference," Columbus defenseman Luke Richardson said.
Smith ties it
Smith's first goal since Nov. 10, 2002, tied it at 1 after Wright ran his goal streak to three games. Timonen then scored on a hard slap shot from the top of the left circle on a power play.
In a wild second period, each team had 29 penalty minutes, three five-minute fighting majors and one 10-minute misconduct.
"I thought Columbus spent a lot of time trying to prove how tough they were," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said.
Former Blue Jacket Jamie Allison received a 10-minute misconduct and, as he left the ice, threw his stick like a spear down the tunnel leading to the Nashville dressing room. Two fans were ejected for harassing him.
In addition, Wright accused the Predators' Jordin Tootoo of biting his finger during a scrum.
Hartnell made it 3-1 early in the second period before Orszagh scored on a slap shot from the top of the left circle -- the 12th goal for each. The teams then traded goals in the third period.