Hours after Dubois trade, Blue Jackets beat Lightning 5-2
Columbus Blue Jackets players celebrate their goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)COLUMBUS, Ohio โ Hours after trading disgruntled center Pierre-Luc Dubois, the Columbus Blue Jackets got three first-period goals and beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 Saturday. Nick Foligno, Mikhail Grigorenko, Vladislav Gavrikov, Zach Werenski and Eric Robinson scored, and Elvis Merzlikins had 30 saves as the Blue Jackets played their most explosive game of the season. The Blue Jackets tied it 17 seconds later when Foligno knocked in a rebound off Vasilevsky's stick. The Blue Jackets host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday and Thursday.
NHL training camps open with sense of urgency
It was the first day of training camp for Laviolette and the Washington Capitals and most of the NHL. Camps are now open for the league's 31 teams and they will last just 10 days. โYou get a fresh start,โ said Jeff Skinner of the Buffalo Sabres, who haven't played a game since March. โMost players would argue that camps are a little bit long anyway," Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. โIโve been told from our team and from the league, when a player is not on the ice during training camp, weโre supposed to say heโs not available today,โ Philadelphia coach Alain Vigneault said.
Familiarity breeds respect among NHL East playoff teams
TORONTO, ONT Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper took exception to the Columbus Blue Jackets being referred to as a blue-collar team. Is that a positive or a negative? Cooper said Monday, a day before his Eastern Conference second-seeded Lightning open the first round of the NHL playoffs against the seventh-seeded Blue Jackets. Thats in the history books forever, Cooper said, noting how both teams have made various changes to their lineups. Id call them a really good team.Familiarity is breeding respect among the East opponents entering the first round. The Islanders hold a 5-2 playoff series edge over Washington.
Maple Leafs shut out Blue Jackets 3-0 to even playoff series
TORONTO, ONT Auston Matthews and John Tavares scored and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 on Tuesday to even their best-of-five qualifying series at one game. Five Leafs power plays helped keep the Blue Jackets on their heels. Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno was just as disappointed. ... Blue Jackets D Dean Kukan left the bench for observation in the first period after a big hit by Toronto's Kyle Clifford but returned later in the period. That also was the first playoff shutout in Blue Jackets history.
Bubble hockey begins: NHL playoff teams adjust to quarantine
When the Boston Bruins boarded their flight bound for Toronto, they thought of it as just another long road trip. NHL players from the 24 playoff teams woke up to their new reality Monday in the hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta. Columbus coach John Tortorella won't name his starting goaltender for Game 1 against Toronto until the day before. It's just the start, and it'll take almost a week of daily testing to be sure the NHL can pull this off. But getting into the Toronto and Edmonton bubbles represented an important stride toward playing during a pandemic.
NHL's older coaches debate wearing masks, taking precautions
In this photo provided by the Dallas Stars NHL hockey team, interim head coach Rick Bowness watches practice in Frisco, Texas, Tuesday, July 14, 2020. You get out there and you miss it, the Dallas Stars coach said. You realize how much you enjoy being out there.The NHLs oldest head coach still worries about COVID-19 but not enough to stop doing his job. Im going to have to adjust to it, there is no question. The average age of the 24 head coaches in the playoffs is just under 54, the second-oldest behind the NBA among North Americas four major professional sports leagues.
LIVE UPDATES: Canadiens vs. Blue Jackets in battle for playoff spot
The Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets are in a battle for a Wild Card playoff spot in the NHL's Eastern Conference. The Canadiens currently hold the 8th and final spot in the East with 90 points. The Blue Jackets trail them with 88 points. GAME TIME: 7 p.m. in ColumbusTV: FSOH, NHLNAbout the Blue JacketsThe Blue Jackets aer 5-4-1 in their past 10 games. About the CanadiensAt the beginning of the season the Canadiens were expected to be somewhere between mediocre and battling for a playoff spot, at best.