MEDIA CLIPS Columbus Blue Jackets Vs
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MEDIA CLIPS Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Pittsburgh Penguins March 12, 2020 Columbus Blue Jackets Blue Jackets prohibiting fans from home games due to coronavirus concerns By Bill Rabinowitz – The Columbus Dispatch – March 11, 2020 The Blue Jackets announced late Wednesday afternoon that the team will comply with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s request barring fans from games because of health concerns related to the coronavirus. "The Columbus Blue Jackets are aware of Governor DeWine’s announcement today that an order prohibiting mass gatherings in the state of Ohio is forthcoming," the team said in a statement. "We have been in contact with the National Hockey League regarding this matter and will abide by the state’s mandate." Games at Nationwide Arena, starting with Thursday night’s against Pittsburgh, will be played. But admission will be restricted to home and visiting club personnel, credentialed media and broadcast partners, essential club and arena staff and NHL officials. "The health and well-being of our community is our priority and we appreciate the understanding of our fans, corporate sponsors and guests under these extraordinary circumstances," the Blue Jackets said in the statement. It was a reversal of the position the team took on Tuesday after DeWine strongly recommended that organizers of large gatherings such as sporting events not allow fans to attend. The Blue Jackets announced later Tuesday that it would not heed DeWine. "That's his recommendation," Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said Wednesday morning. "And as a league, we've decided to play in front of our fans. We take every precaution possible to make sure that people that attend our games are as safe as possible." A few hours later, DeWine held a news conference in which he said he intended to change his request to an order. The Blue Jackets then relented. The team will work with season-ticket holders, club and premium-seat holders on credits or refunds for affected games. Single-game ticket buyers will receive a refund through their point of purchase. Players will have to adjust to playing in a mostly empty arena. "We feed off the energy a lot of nights with our crowd," captain Nick Foligno said. "But there's a job to do and at a lot of points; you drown them out because you’ve got five other guys trying to kill you on the ice. "We appreciate what our fan base brings, and obviously we prefer to play in front of them. But our job is to make sure we're ready to play the Pittsburgh Penguins." Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 03.12.2020 Blue Jackets’ line change is paying off By Brian Hedger – The Columbus Dispatch – March 11, 2020 It was one of those gut feelings John Tortorella gets on the Blue Jackets’ bench. His forwards weren’t generating enough against the Vancouver Canucks on March 1 at Nationwide Arena and he didn’t like the configuration of his lines, so the Blue Jackets coach made a switch. That part wasn’t unusual. In fact, Tortorella does that quite a bit, to the point where fans will post about the "Tortorella Line Blender" online and include a GIF of an actual blender doing its thing. What made that particular whir of Tortorella’s blender so interesting, however, is that he went with "puree" over "blend." Strapped by injuries to a number of top-six forwards, he put center Alexander Wennberg at left wing on center Pierre-Luc Dubois’ line and grouped them with rookie Emil Bemstrom’s high-caliber shot. "I had it all spread out and I knew after two rounds of going through (shifts)," said Tortorella, who sent those three onto the ice for the first time at 8:57 of the first period. "I said, ‘This is ugly, this isn’t gonna work.’ I needed to condense it … getting my two best offensive players within two lines instead of spreading it out between three and four. And that’s where that came from." Well, it worked. The Blue Jackets pulled off a stunning comeback with four goals in the final 7:21 of the third period to win 5-3, and his reconfigured lines played a big role. Bemstrom drew a tripping penalty on Vancouver’s Antoine Roussel with 3:33 left and scored the winner on the ensuing power play. Wennberg, Dubois and Bemstrom have stayed together since and have shown a growing chemistry. According to naturalstattrick.com, the Jackets have gotten more total shots (31-28), shot attempts (52- 39), scoring chances (22-16) and high-danger scoring chances (13-7) at even-strength with them together the past four games, with the lone downside total goals (1-3). "It’s been going good," said Wennberg, who still utilizes his passing prowess from the wing. "I really like to play with (Dubois), because it feels like you can read off of him. Maybe defensively we’ve been getting scored on a little bit, but in general, I looked at the (Edmonton) game and we created some grade A chances and we had some opportunities." Bemstrom sent the puck off the crossbar on one of them, which would have tied it 1-1 in the third, but he didn’t miss Sunday in Vancouver. After drifting to the low slot, Bemstrom put the Jackets up 1-0 at 7:18 of the second period by snapping a shot into the net off a pass from Dubois. It was the Jackets’ first goal in a 2-1 victory to conclude a three-game trip to western Canada, and it offered proof of what Dubois has told the talented rookie. "He’s one of those guys who has a shot that not more than one or two guys per team have," Dubois said. "I think he can be one of those players that, you know, every team looks at us and says, ‘OK, we’ve got to make sure this guy doesn’t shoot too many pucks tonight, because it could be a long night for us.’ " Dubois isn’t Bemstrom’s only source for setups now, either. Wennberg is out there, too. "I told Torts at the start of the year, like, ‘I don’t know if Wenny will ever play on the wing or I’ll be on the wing, but I think he’s a really good player and could be a really fun player to play with,’ " Dubois said. "He plays a game that matches well with mine, where we want to play with the puck. We still have a lot we can learn from each other, but I think we’re playing well together." Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 03.12.2020 Governor’s order: Blue Jackets will play Penguins in empty Nationwide Arena By Aaron Portzline – The Athletic – March 11, 2020 COLUMBUS, Ohio — If a cannon blasts in Nationwide Arena and there are no fans to hear it, did it still go boom? The Blue Jackets will play Thursday’s game against Metropolitan Division opponent Pittsburgh in an empty Nationwide Arena after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s order that mass gatherings not be permitted in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The ban will likely affect future home games, too. Of the Blue Jackets’ 12 remaining regular-season games, five are scheduled to be played at Nationwide Arena. DeWine, at a news conference Wednesday, said he expected to issue his order “in the next 24 to 36 hours.” The Blue Jackets will be the first team to play in front of an empty building during the COVID-19 pandemic, though similar decrees have come from officials in Santa Clara County, Calif. The San Jose Sharks will not have fans for their remaining three home games, beginning March 19 versus Montreal. “We understand (the order) is coming, and we (and the club) will respond cooperatively and appropriately,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Athletic in a statement. “We certainly share the objective of doing what is deemed necessary in limiting the spread of the virus.” On Tuesday, DeWine made a “recommendation” that local sports teams ban spectators from their games. While the Ohio High School Athletic Association decided to comply — allowing only immediate family members to attend games — the Blue Jackets and the NHL made it clear they planned to ignore the recommendation. One day later, DeWine decided to take the next step. Ohio confirmed its fourth COVID-19 case Wednesday. Three patients are in Cuyahoga County, and one is in Stark County. “If people understand the facts … really understand the facts and really understand how dangerous this is, logical people will make logical decisions,” DeWine said. “I understand how hard this is, because we see no changes out there. But the world has changed for Ohioans.” Two hours after DeWine’s news conference ended, the Blue Jackets responded. “We have been in contact with the NHL regarding this matter and will abide by the state’s mandate,” the team said in a statement. “Remaining home games, while the order is in effect, including (Thursday) versus Pittsburgh, will be played with restricted attendance in compliance with today’s announcement.” Only team personnel, credentialed media members and broadcast partners, essential team and arena staff, players and officials will be allowed to attend. The Blue Jackets will work with season-ticket, club and premium seat holders on credits or refunds, and single-game ticket holders will receive a refund. It’s unclear how much of the game-night atmosphere the Blue Jackets will try to replicate. Will there be a national anthem? Will the cannon be fired? Will there be music played during stoppages? “It’ll be like a scrimmage,” Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said.