Captain Rick Nash, of nearby Brampton, Ontario, scored a goal and the shootout winner to lead the surging Blue Jackets to a 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, giving Ken Hitchcock his 500th NHL regular-season victory. Rookie goaltender Steve Mason, of Oakville, made 32 saves and stopped Jason Blake on two regulation breakaways to thrill more than 40 friends and family members in the Air Canada Centre.

The Jackets have won six of the past seven games to create a five-point cushion in the race for their first playoff spot. It was a sloppy yet satisfying evening, one that even included a daring trick shot by the Jackets' Jason Williams in the shootout.

When it was over, Hitchcock quietly walked from the bench to the locker room, where he accepted the game puck from center Michael Peca, a Toronto native, in a short ceremony. Hitchcock became just the 13th coach in NHL history to reach the 500-win mark.

The Hockey Hall of Fame, also located here, said it wants an item from the game. Hitchcock, 58, could be enshrined in the hall after he retires.

"(The players) were genuinely happy," Hitchcock said. "I told them the reason you get to 500 is because you're old."

He seemed prouder of the way his tired club found a way to win despite playing its fifth game in seven nights. The Jackets rallied for just their second win (2-17-3) when trailing after two periods.

"We made more mistakes in the first two periods than we had in the previous five games (combined)," Hitchcock said. "It was a game where we had no legs, but we found a way to get the two points.

"We have relied on the character and the competitiveness of our team, and it came through in the third period and overtime. To do what we have done in this seven-day period is pretty impressive."

The Jackets also got goals from R.J. Umberger and Kristian Huselius. Manny Malhotra, of nearby Mississauga, had two assists. Mason improved to 23-12-3.

In the shootout, Mason made one save, allowed a goal to Blake and watched Lee Stempniak shoot wide. The most outrageous moment belonged to Williams.

The center skated toward rookie Justin Pogge and pretended to fan on the shot to open up the goaltender's legs. The puck glided between the pads and into the net. Williams has used the move in the past.

"It's a risky play, but it worked," he said.

Nash provided the winner in conventional fashion with a forehand shot. He is one of six Jackets players from metro Toronto.

"It's not often we get to come back and I think this is my first win here, so that's pretty special," Nash said.

Nash tied it with less than a second remaining in the first period after a neutral-zone collision by two Leafs sprung him and Huselius on a 2-on-1 break.

The Jackets took a 2-1 lead on Umberger's 20th goal, tying a career high, at 11:42 of the second period. But the Jackets got sloppy and were punished with two Leafs goals in four minutes from Jamal Mayers and Nik Antropov.

Huselius tied it early in the third after good work behind the net by Nash and Malhotra.

treed@dispatch.com