OK, so it's Halloween. Who were the Blue Jackets pretending to be Thursday night in Pepsi Center?

The Blue Jackets looked like the real deal in a 4-2 win over the Avs. Goaltender Fredrik Norrena was outstanding. The defense was very proficient getting the puck out of their own end. Even defenseman Jan Hejda scored a goal.

It was a much-needed win for the Blue Jackets. Three-game losing streak ... over. Now they come home to play the Blackhawks on Saturday, with veteran right winger Raffi Torres set to join the group.

Other notes/thoughts/ruminations:

-- Good for Fredrik Norrena. The boys got him four goals. They played well around him. And Norrena made some huge saves. He was especially quick with the glove. Lots of credit goes to Perry Elderbroom, the interim goalie coach. A few days ago, it was revealed to Elderbroom that a fan likened his name to a Harry Potter character. Good comeback by Elderbroom, who said: "If I can bring them some luck, I'll accept that." So far , so good, Wizard.

-- The Rick Nash experiment at center didn't last long. I counted five shifts in the first period, only two in which he took a faceoff. By the second and third period, Nash was on the left side of a line with center Jiri Novotny and right winger Kristian Huselius. The line produced very little. Wonder where it goes from here?

-- How good is rookie center Derick Brassard? He now has 4-5-9 in 10 games, the leading scorer among NHL rookies. This is a dynamic player, Blue Jackets fans. He looks so calm and patient with the puck. So creative, too. He's on pace for 74 points and the Calder Trophy.

-- The Blue Jackets were exceptional in their own zone tonight. Exceptional. They went into conservative mode after two periods, but they played it to perfection. Great reads and great puck plays by the defensemen. This could not have been said at any point previously this season.

-- Marc Methot looks like a very good NHL defenseman. Of all the defensemen back there, he really stood out. I'll admit it. I was wrong on this guy. Outside of the rookie forwards, he's been the surprise bright spot so far.

-- Jan Hejda scored for the first time since Wang Chung was cool. OK, not really. It was his first goal as a Blue Jacket and his first NHL goal in 115 games. Said Jason Chimera: "After he scored, guys were screaming: `Get the puck!' It took me a minute to realize that he hadn't scored. He's been around for ever."

-- How bad is Andrew Raycroft? I'm willing to give Brassard and Chimera some credit for nasty shots, but Andrew Murray's was the crusher.

-- Pepsi Center had less than 15,000 in the crowd tonight. I'd say it was close to 12,000. Say what you will about Nationwide Arena, but since the new regime took over, they've stopped lying about attendance. Pepsi was a museum tonight. Numbers are down throughout the NHL.