1 Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips Jan. 15, 2019 Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02: Columbus Dispatch: Details in Bobrovsky Inciden
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Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips Jan. 15, 2019 Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02: Columbus Dispatch: Details in Bobrovsky incident emerg PAGE 04: Columbus Dispatch: Injuries test Blue Jackets' depth at forward PAGE 06: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets 7, Rangers 5: Five takeaways PAGE 09: Columbus Dispatch: Rick Nash takes curtain call where he made his mark PAGE 11: The Athletic: ‘Incident’ explained: Sergei Bobrovsky was not available to play after getting pulled versus Tampa Bay Cleveland Monsters/Prospects NHL/Websites PAGE 13: Seattle Times: Outdoor NHL game in Seattle? As good a chance as the new team being named ‘Kraken’ PAGE 16: The Athletic: DGB weekend power rankings: The teams that should be panicking the hardest 1 Details in Bobrovsky incident emerge By Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch – January 14, 2019 Details about the undisclosed “incident” last week in Tampa that led to goalie Sergei Bobrovsky missing a game for disciplinary measures are now going public. Whispers began soon after it happened and The Athletic published the most common version of those events online Monday, confirming an initial report by Sportsnet that Bobrovsky headed to the locker room, showered and stayed there after being pulled with 11:07 remaining in a 4-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Three sources told The Dispatch slightly different versions of the same story in the past three days — with information from one version stringing back to a member of the team’s front office. Contacted to confirm or refute details of the report Monday, a team spokesman declined to comment beyond what was released last week to the media — when general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said in a news release that Bobrovsky had “failed” to meet “certain expectations and values” demanded of Blue Jackets players. After being pulled following a goal by Brayden Point, which made it 4-0, Bobrovsky went straight to the locker room as Joonas Korpisalo entered the game. Goaltenders usually just change spots and remain on the bench. The report says Bobrovsky went to the locker room this time, took off his equipment and got into the shower before he could be summoned back to the bench — making himself unavailable. Kekalainen spoke with reporters last week and said the team was “moving on,” after a team meeting that included Bobrovsky. Kukan shines in limited ice time It happened on his second shift Saturday night in Washington, when Dean Kukan pounced on a loose puck at the Capitals’ blue line. After dragging it between the circles for an open wrist shot, the 25-year-old Blue Jackets defenseman forced an offensive-zone faceoff by sending the puck into goalie Braden Holtby’s glove. It was an aggressive play, a flash of brilliance and possibly a peek into what kind of defenseman Kukan can someday become. For now, though, he’s the Jackets’ seventh defenseman — an extra body on the blue line. He’s this year’s taller, Swiss version of Scott Harrington, who's now a regular on the third pairing after waiting his turn for a couple of years. “Sometimes, I’ll think, 'Well, "Harry" had the same situation as me last year and now he’s playing every night,’” said Kukan, who’s played in three of the past five games but has logged only nine total this season. “I just try to keep myself motivated, so that helps me a lot just to compare him last season with me this season — because it wasn’t fun at all to sit out that long.” 2 Harrington’s illness created a chance for Kukan to play Jan. 5 in the Jackets’ 4-3 overtime win at the Florida Panthers. It was his first NHL game since Nov. 6 against Dallas, ending a span of 25 games missed — which included a five-game conditioning stint with the Cleveland Monsters. Kukan also played for Harrington last Tuesday at the Tampa Bay Lighting and then suited up against the Capitals when Ryan Murray got sick. Kukan and Harrington formed the third defense pairing, playing their first game together since the preseason, and Kukan finished with four shot attempts in 12:52 of ice time. “I wasn’t nervous anymore, like I was the first couple shifts in Florida,” he said. “If you don’t have any confidence in yourself, you’re not going to play a good game or you don’t play your game. You just think too much. So, I just thought, ‘Just have fun,’ and I had fun with it. I hope it showed.” It caught coach John Tortorella’s attention. “He has some patience to his game, too, where he’s not always looking to put it off the glass and get it off his stick,” Tortorella said. “As he’s played some minutes, you can see in a guy that hasn’t played a lot ... you can see how his game improves.” One-timers Tortorella tied Ken Hitchcock with the most games coached in franchise history (284). He is expected to pass Hitchcock on Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils … The Blue Jackets didn’t practice Monday and will hold a morning skate Tuesday. … Defenseman Gabriel Carlsson and forward Kole Sherwood, who’s from New Albany, were reassigned to Cleveland. 3 Injuries test Blue Jackets' depth at forward By Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch – January 14, 2019 The Blue Jackets have been lucky with injuries thus far this season, but they’ve hit a bump in the road in recent weeks. Currently without two-thirds of their fourth line, Brandon Dubinsky (hamstring) and Markus Hannikainen (elbow), the Jackets initially dipped into their organizational depth to get through it. They already have called upon a couple of rookie forward prospects, Eric Robinson and Kevin Stenlund, and might be close to giving New Albany native Kole Sherwood a shot to play. “His name has come by my desk in discussions with (assistant GM Bill Zito) and (general manager Jarmo Kekalainen) for a number of weeks now, as far as how he has skated,” coach John Tortorella said of Sherwood, who was recalled from the Cleveland Monsters on Sunday and then reassigned Monday. “We all know how fast he is and how he’s applied himself to his game, so that’s why (he was) here. We’re just a little banged up at forward. But we’ve got some really good reports on him.” The Blue Jackets had received similar reports on Robinson and Stenlund, each of whom was given a chance to play in the past two weeks. Robinson made his season debut Jan. 5 at Florida and played three games, primarily filling a spot while captain Nick Foligno was away in Boston for his daughter’s recovery from heart surgery. Stenlund made his NHL debut Saturday in Washington and has played the past two games on a line with Anthony Duclair and center Alexander Wennberg. “I liked him in camp,” Tortorella said of the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Stenlund, who also can play center. “He’s a big body, he won a couple faceoffs (against the Capitals). First period (in Washington), I thought he did some really good things on the wall, made a couple of nice little 5-foot plays. (He) wasn’t overwhelmed by any means.” Most important for Stenlund is that Tortorella wasn’t underwhelmed by his play. The same could be said for Robinson, despite his being sent back to Cleveland. Robinson is also big, listed at 6 feet 2, 200 pounds, and has top-end speed similar to Josh Anderson (6-3, 221). The Blue Jackets also have a trio of veteran forwards playing well in Cleveland, each of whom has NHL experience. Zac Dalpe has 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists) and centers the top line; Nathan Gerbe has 29 points (nine goals, 20 assists) and plays on the wing; and center Mark Letestu has 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists). Alex Broadhurst, a forward who made his NHL debut last season, has 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists). The Blue Jackets have also leaned on defenseman Dean Kukan recently, playing him in three of the past five games when Scott Harrington and Ryan Murray were out with illnesses. “It’s really encouraging, as far as the couple guys that we’ve brought up here and then Kuks stepping up after missing so much (time as a healthy scratch), giving us some good minutes,” Tortorella said. “I look 4 at Stenlund, I look at (Kukan), I look at (Robinson) coming up here and playing a couple games. It’s encouraging for us to see some guys stepping in here and playing.” 5 Blue Jackets 7, Rangers 5 | Five takeaways By Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch – January 14, 2019 It was the beginning of the end of a long, strange week for the Blue Jackets. Players stood along each blue line inside Nationwide Arena. The house lights were down, with a spotlight focused intensely on the blue carpet extending along the red line to center ice. Rick Nash’s kids had just done the honors of dropping the ceremonial first puck(s) to commemorate their dad’s memorable 15-year NHL career – which included the first nine in a Blue Jackets uniform – and now it was anthem singer Leo Welsh’s turn to do his thing. Only it’s hard to do your thing as an anthem singer when nobody hears you. A microphone mishap rendered “Leo!” mute, so he made a decision on the fly that fit perfectly with the rest of the Blue Jackets’ week – which included a tough loss Tuesday in Tampa, a controversy involving goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and then impressive wins against the Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals.