Tag Archives: Ryan Johansen

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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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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Familiar faces

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Unfortunately, the Phoenix Coyotes did not skate this morning (nor did they come to the rink) so I didn’t get a chance to talk to the quartet of former Blue Jackets on their roster.

What an assembly it is: Rostislav Klesla, Ray Whitney, Raffi Torres and Gilbert Brule – the latter two being traded for one another during the summer of 2008. As you all know, Klesla was the Blue Jackets’ first draft pick at fourth overall in the 2000 Entry Draft and was a good teammate, representative and human being during his 10 years in Columbus. Brule was the club’s first-round pick in 2005, Whitney was one of the best offensive players this franchise has ever seen and Torres had a huge impact in the 2008-09 playoff run.

Those men each provided memories for all of us who follow and support the team, but like with most things in life, there was a time to move on. Klesla will be honored with a pre-game video tribute tonight at Nationwide Arena.

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Post-game: Blackhawks 5, Blue Jackets 2

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And I thought Patrick Sharp was a thorn in the Blue Jackets’ side these days.

Apparently, that honor can now be bestowed upon Viktor Stalberg, the Toronto Maple Leafs castoff who has found a home in Chicago. The Swedish winger notched a hat trick tonight against Columbus and lead the Blackhawks to a 5-2 victory at United Center. It was the first win in four games (and first in 2012) for the Blackhawks, who have struggled to score goals of late.

On the flip side, Todd Richards dropped his debut behind the Blue Jackets bench and he’s not the first Columbus coach to do so. The last to win in his Jackets coaching debut was Claude Noel in February of 2009, a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars at Nationwide Arena.

The Blue Jackets got goals tonight from Antoine Vermette and R.J. Umberger and both men played a sturdy game. Captain Rick Nash was active, as well, firing a season-high eight shots on goal and accounting for nearly 25 percent of Columbus’ shot output.

From here, it’s back home to Columbus tonight and a four-game homestand that awaits. Richards and staff will have some time to review the tweaks he wants to make and get settled back on the homefront. The Phoenix Coyotes are the next opponent on the schedule – a Friday night contest followed up another home tilt Saturday vs. the San Jose Sharks.

Here are some notes, stats and more from tonight’s game:

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Game day by the bay

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Did I miss anything today?

No, but seriously, I’m ready to roll after fidgeting back-and-forth with the newest version of TweetDeck – the Twitter client that I will forever be faithful to for its ease of use and real-time updating. They released an update last week and I decided to give it a shot. My advice: don’t. I shut it down after a few hours. Too complicated and plenty of missing features.

So there’s a game today. Let’s get right to it.

Thomas Greiss is in goal for the San Jose Sharks tonight at HP Pavilion, where they will take on our Blue Jackets in the first of a four-game roadie for Columbus. We all suspect Curtis Sanford is back between the pipes tonight and it’s been a little while for the veteran to get another shot. I think he’ll do well, and the time off to rest his back did wonders for him, he told me earlier this week.

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Pre-game quotes: Scott Arniel

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Blue Jackets coach Scott Arniel held his pre-game media scrum today prior to tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals. Here is the full transcript of Arniel’s comments.

Arniel, on the loss of James Wisniewski: “He’s a guy that logs somewhere in the low-to-mid 20s (minutes) ice time, a power play guy and a guy that played a lot of special ice for us. Other people have to step up…it’s a situation where the other night when we were down to five (defensemen), I thought they did a great job. Our forwards helped an awful lot with making the game a little bit easier for them. Tonight will be the same thing – AJ will go in, and we have to make sure we’re keeping the game simple. It’s tough to fill a hole like that, but I feel we have a good group that can go out and do the right things.”

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Close out 2011 with the Caps

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The Washington Capitals are here for their optional skate this morning, and only a few guys are on the ice. That list includes Jay Beagle, Michael Neuvirth, John Erskine and a few others. Beagle and Neuvirth are out tonight against the Blue Jackets, Capitals coach Dale Hunter said. Recently-recalled Cody Eakin slots into the Washington lineup and Tomas Vokoun starts in goal.

For the Blue Jackets, they have an opportunity to face a Capitals team that played last night at home, defeating the Buffalo Sabres by a 3-1 final. Alex Ovechkin had a pair of goals in that game and Nicklas Backstrom was a major factor for the Capitals, as well. Columbus got production from its top line in Dallas two days back, and the trio of Rick Nash-Jeff Carter-Ryan Johansen has shown a lot of potential since being assembled two games ago.

Blue Jackets coach Scott Arniel said Nikita Nikitin has come down with the flu, so the club recalled David Savard from AHL Springfield this morning in the event Nikitin is not fit to play.

Read more for further notes, quotes and news items from today’s skate.

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Nash: “We kept the pedal down.”

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Well, that was fun.

I used Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash’s quote as a headline simply because it sums up tonight’s game so perfectly and succinctly. After so many disappointing third-period losses this season, they pieced together a textbook third period and beat the Dallas Stars by a 4-1 final. It was Columbus’ first regulation road victory of the season, and Steve Mason’s first win away from home as well.

There was a lot to like about the Blue Jackets’ game tonight, and first and foremost, you have to look at their resolve. They knew their record in third periods, they knew their record at American Airlines Center — but they kept going and kept the pedal to the floor. Nash’s goal early in the third period gave them a 3-1 lead and that was enough for Mason, who made 36 saves.

Click the link below to get more analysis, notes and potentially lame jokes.

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Game night in Big “D”

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Lots going on today, but hey, there’s a hockey game tonight at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Blue Jackets and Stars meet for the third of four this season, and the home team welcomes back its No. 1 goaltender from a groin injury. Finnish netminder Kari Lehtonen (13-4-1 this year) will be back between the pipes for a Stars team that desperately needs its stability in goal back.

That’s no slight to young Richard Bachman, who was very good in Lehtonen’s absence, but the man they simply refer to as “Kari” is the Stars’ backbone. In two games against the Blue Jackets this season, Lehtonen was flat-out awesome. The game that comes immediately to mind is a 36-save performance in late October at Nationwide Arena, when the Blue Jackets kept coming in waves in a wild third period — but Lehtonen was there every time.

Read more pre-game material after the jump.

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