UPDATE: Johansen Drafted To Team Chara

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Blue Jackets rookie center Ryan Johansen was a member of a six-rookie group selected to Zdeno Chara’s team in tomorrow’s NHL Super Skills competition at the All-Star Game in Ottawa, Ont.

Other rookie members of Team Chara include: Luke Adam (BUF), Raphael Diaz (MTL), Colin Greening (OTT), Cody Hodgson (VAN) and Gabriel Landeskog (COL). The full rosters for both All-Star teams following tonight’s Player Fantasy Draft can be found at NHL.com.

The Skills event gets under way tomorrow at 7 p.m. from Scotiabank Place in Kanata, Ont.

All-Star Break: Five Pleasant Surprises.

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Let us all catch our breath, re-charge and enjoy a fun weekend ahead in Ottawa at the 2012 NHL All-Star Game. Then, a few days later, we get set for the unofficial second half of the NHL season. For the Blue Jackets, it has been an eventful first half of the season, but we’re starting to see glimpses of improved hockey and a lot of credit goes to interim head coach Todd Richards for, as he put it, “restoring some joy” to the locker room.

So far this season, we have seen the hard work and tireless preparation of a true professional be rewarded with a starting goaltender role in the NHL once again. We’ve seen a future franchise center grow into his skates and show he can be an impact player at this level, and the players recalled from Springfield (AHL) have shown us that the organizational pipeline contains kids who can make a difference. That’s what every team strives for.

Read more for my five pleasant surprises of the first half.

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Game Day in “Hockey Bay.”

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Not much going on at the rink this morning for the Blue Jackets, who arrived in Tampa Bay overnight after a 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. Columbus did not skate after playing last night and the Lightning held a morning skate at Tampa Bay Times Forum, as tonight’s game will be their first since the weekend.

Some roster news to pass along from the AM: Tomas Kubalik has been sent back to Springfield (AHL) and Dane Byers is back from the Falcons. Kubalik played well in his first few games, but it was a struggle in the last handful so interim head coach Todd Richards and GM Scott Howson decided it’s in the player’s best interest to send him back. Making the decision easier was the return of R.J. Umberger last night, and I thought he looked good in his first game back.

Goaltending notes: Mathieu Garon is expected to start tonight against the Blue Jackets (for the second time this season), according to Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune. Curtis Sanford is the likely starter for Columbus, as Steve Mason played last night in Nashville.

Read more for tonight’s lineup, pre-game statistics and other assorted info nuggets.

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In “The D.”

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DETROIT — I’ve only called it “The Big D” four times since we arrived from London, Ont. last night and apparently the locals give you the what-for in response. We got back to Detroit just after midnight and thankfully we were one of the lone wolves still awake.

And while we’re talking about London: what a tremendous, first-class ceremony the Knights organization put on for Rick Nash last night. Nash enjoyed it, was moved by the pre-game video in his honor and saw many close friends at John Labatt Centre. We’ll have full coverage (photos, stories, video) coming later this weekend on BlueJackets.com

The Blue Jackets have completed their morning skate at Joe Louis Arena and are set for tonight’s third meeting with the Red Wings. Todd Richards called it a “measuring stick” for his team, and for good reason: the Red Wings (if you haven’t heard), are in the midst of a 15-game winning streak on home ice and are 18-2-1 here overall.

Read more for lineups, defense pairs, starting goaltenders and more.

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Round Five.

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This rivalry is like a heavyweight bout: each team has taken its licks, gotten back up and returned for more. After the Blue Jackets stunned the Predators with a 4-3 OT win back in November at Bridgestone Arena, the showdown between the two clubs felt like it was “back on.”

Tonight is the fifth of six rounds this season, and the final meeting is next week in Nashville. On one hand, I’m disappointed that the season series ends early this year. On the other, I’m happy to be done with these guys :) But in all seriousness, tonight’s game will be entertaining and full of energy — and I look to the Blue Jackets first, who feel they have a lot to prove in this contest especially given the results of the previous two.

Like Predators coach Barry Trotz said after the morning skate: “I do know they’d like to have some payback, because we’ve stolen some games from them.” Trotz also said he thought the Predators were outplayed in each of the previous four games vs. Columbus this season, and felt Pekka Rinne was the difference in the opening-night win at Nationwide Arena.

Read more for notes and tonight’s lineups.

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We meet again.

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The last two meetings between the Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators have been feisty, entertaining and emotionally-taxing hockey games. It’s fairly clear that this Central Division rivalry has re-heated itself and is no longer a soggy piece of day-old pizza — it’s a piping hot entree that is ready for round five.

It’s not too difficult to forget the last get together at Bridgestone Arena. The Blue Jackets scored three power-play goals in the first period, Jeff Carter had a hat trick and everything appeared to be clicking on all cylinders. But despite a pair of three-goal leads in the game, it came down to the final seconds where old nemesis Martin Erat delivered another dagger. His game-winner with 8.4 seconds left came after he split the defense and went five-hole on Curtis Sanford to complete a furious rally.

But this is a different Blue Jackets squad, one that has picked itself up since Todd Richards took over. As a member of the Edmonton media said the other day, Richards “has their attention.” Oilers coach Tom Renney agreed with that statement, and probably even more so after the Blue Jackets scored four straight goals to win on Tuesday night.

Read more for stats, news items other assorted nuggets.

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Post-practice quotes: Todd Richards

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The Blue Jackets held an hour-long practice this morning at Nationwide Arena following last night’s 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Interim head coach Todd Richards met with the media after the skate, and shared his thoughts on captain Rick Nash, Derick Brassard’s game, the beloved Curtis Sanford and more.

Here are Richards’ comments in full.

On Brassard: “At his stage in his career, it should be getting to that point. He’s not a first-year guy, he’s not a second-year guy. Guys that have long careers in the NHL tend to figure out young, and now they establish themselves. Hopefully we can get Derick to that point where he becomes an established NHL player that can contribute at both ends of the ice. This is my first year seeing him, and talking with people that were here last year, there was a point last year when he was the best player and carried the team. I’m just starting to see some of that now, where he’s becoming a player that’s dangerous when comes out on the ice. I just want to see more of that.”

More comments after the jump.

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Pre-game notes: Blue Jackets vs. Oilers

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There’s one thing the Edmonton Oilers do not lack, and that’s confidence. From spending limited time around them, it’s not a cockiness or blatant swagger that defines them, but rather a belief in their style of play and never thinking they’re out of a hockey game.

But through the course of an 82-game schedule, there are highs and lows that come to pass. After starting 8-2-2 this year, the Oilers have fallen down to 13th in the Western Conference and open a brief two-game roadie tonight at Nationwide Arena. Despite dropping below .500 and being crushed by injuries to their star players (Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ryan Whitney among others), there’s still hope of climbing back into the playoff picture.

UPDATE: 6:40 p.m. — Oilers LW Taylor Hall appeared to suffer an injury during warm-ups. He was holding his head and it could have been a stray puck or a skate cut, according to Sportsnet’s Gene Principe. Hope he’s ok.

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Colton Gillies: “They never gave me a chance.”

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I had a chance to catch up with Colton Gillies, also known as the newest Blue Jacket after today’s practice at Nationwide Arena. He’s a nice guy with a good personality, and I’ll be looking forward to covering him as his Blue Jackets career takes flight.

One funny video of Gillies from his Houston Aeros days (which I joked with him about) before we get started: he’s promoting the team’s Facebook page and it’s pretty funny. “I remember they gave me like, seven things to say, and I could only remember one.”

Read more for his full quotes. He spoke about needing a change, why things didn’t work out for him in Minnesota, his hockey idol and more.

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Post-game: Sharks 2, Blue Jackets 1

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said this morning that the Sharks are becoming one of the NHL’s most versatile teams: they can out-score you, out-goalie you and out-check you. Tonight, they played another “first-blink-wins” game with the Blue Jackets, and got the upperhand in a 2-1 win at Nationwide Arena.

For as much as the Blue Jackets put the Sharks on the power play in this game, you’d think the final score would be a bit more lopsided. But you could see the elements of Todd Richards’ penalty-killing philosophy at work tonight — wanting the Blue Jackets to be the initiators on the kill and make the opposition do things they don’t want to do. The Sharks were guilty of several giveaways on the power play, and Ryan Russell was right in the middle of just about everything while shorthanded.

Patrick Marleau’s 17th goal of the season was the product of misfortune for the Blue Jackets rather than a budding sequence for the Sharks. The Blue Jackets, after getting a gorgeous game-tying goal from Rick Nash, came with a tremendous push in the final 10 minutes and nearly squeaked another goal by Thomas Greiss. Derek Dorsett and Nash came within inches of finding the net, but Greiss made a pair of 10-bell stops.

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