Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash greeted a new decade with an unsettlingly familiar scenario yesterday, coming to the rink Jan. 1 to practice with a struggling team.

Nash and his teammates have lost 18 of their past 21 games to find themselves 10 points out of a playoff spot with less than half a season remaining. In a six-week stretch, the Jackets have regressed from a talented team building off its first Stanley Cup playoff appearance to one resembling the depths of the expansion years.

Meanwhile, Nash, one of the sport's best power forwards, has scored just five times during the 3-12-6 slide.

But as Nash, 25, prepares to face former Blue Jackets captain Adam Foote and the Colorado Avalanche tonight, he says the season can be salvaged. Nash supports coach Ken Hitchcock, believes in the checking system the coach employs and still believes there can be playoff hockey in Columbus come April.

Q: What has most surprised you during this losing stretch?

A: The biggest thing is we have stuck together. You look at practice and in the dressing room, and guys are upbeat. That's important. I've gone through droughts like this in the past when it wasn't fun to come to the rink, and no one was talking to each other.

Q: Did you think the "bad old days" were behind you?

A: There are always going to be peaks and valleys. San Jose lost five in a row there (in early December). You don't expect the valleys to be this big, but in every season there will be droughts. It's just a matter of how do you come out of them. We've dug ourselves a big hole, and we've got to get out of it.

Q: You have five goals in this stretch. You have worked hard in other facets of the game, but does it bother you when you are not scoring?

A: It's tough, and early on in my career it might have (affected me). But I'm hitting posts and getting point-blank chances. I know my goals come in bunches and when I'm not scoring I have to contribute in other ways -- being a leader, trying to play physical, trying to kill penalties. I know the goals will come.

Q: Has this been your toughest challenge as captain, and has it weighed on you?

A: This has been a tough one, and it's a test for our whole leadership group as to how we are going to stick together and how we are going to lead by example. We are not out of the slump yet, but you try to take lessons from it as far as what works and what doesn't.

Q: Why did it take so long to transition back to the checking style of play that made your team so effective last season?

A: I think our early success was our Achilles'. We played free-wheeling and we had success, and we thought we could play that way all the time. Teams started to sharpen up and we weren't getting the bounces we were getting, and it took us awhile to play solid defensively.

Q: How do you try to keep the confidence of a young, skilled player like Derick Brassard from wavering?

A: It's a tough situation because he came in last year and had so much success. Obviously, the (hand) injury set him back. With our team, the young guys will have to earn their ice time. He's staying upbeat, and he's working hard. He's impressed me with how much he has stuck with it.

Q: Do you see some of the young players being overwhelmed by what's being asked of them by Ken Hitchcock?

A: Overwhelmed? It may be a bit surprising to them. He is very demanding, as everyone knows. I try to picture myself as an 18-year-old and if I had that (kind of coach), he would be a tough guy to play for. But he is going to make you better at the end of the day. It is tough, but they have to stay with it.

Q: Is Hitchcock still the right guy for the team?

A: I think so, 100 percent, for sure. He is so prepared and knows the other teams so well. When we stick to the game plan, we win games -- we have a chance to win every game. I wouldn't even question it.

Q: Is this still a playoff team?

A: For sure. It's going to be tough, but we can go on a winning stretch. We have the personnel, we have the players, we have the depth. I think we are going to be all right as long as we start to score some goals.

treed@dispatch.com