Eight years ago, this was a fun little rivalry.
The Blue Jackets were little brother and the Red Wings played the part of the elder sibling who held the noggin while watching repeated swings and misses. On many nights, it wasn't fun for the Blue Jackets and they endured plenty of bruises in the earlier days. But along the way, they got some traction and started to return the favor.
And then, the two teams went their separate ways into different conferences and that was that.
Tonight's game at Nationwide Arena won't be the nasty, snarly and confrontational battle of years past. The Red Wings are out of the playoffs but they've been playing well, recently dropping a shut out courtesy of Jimmy Howard (who's been on his game) and you can bet they'll want to prevent the Blue Jackets from punching their ticket. With a win and a Florida loss, the Blue Jackets are in the playoffs – but don't tell John Tortorella, who was having literally N O N E of the "clinch" conversation yesterday.
Personally, I love when coaches do this. The deflection is classic; every single player in that dressing room knows the situation. Tortorella knows it. He's probably going to mention it at some point before tonight's game. Why wouldn't he? It gives the Blue Jackets, who have been battling a flu bug lately, a little extra juice in what's already a huge game.
You're not fooling anyone by saying this game tonight is just another opportunity. It's your biggest opportunity, against a non-playoff opponent and knowing that with the right combination of results, you're going to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
I appreciate the attempt, Torts, but come on.
The Blue Jackets would do well to bring a desperate, Game 7-like approach tonight. The Red Wings aren't going to take it lightly on them, nor will they roll over and surrender. In the last meeting between these two teams – Mar. 9 at Nationwide Arena – there was definitely some dislike and some attitude, which was surprising for two clubs that rarely see each other and don't have any recent history.
Speaking of history, one of the better Blue Jackets-Red Wings battles was this one, in 2009, in a game that meant nothing to Columbus but Steve Mason was awesome. A rare national TV game for these fledgling Blue Jackets, it was Fredrik Modin scoring the OT winner in a 1-0 thriller.
There have been several others, but I just wanted an excuse to share that video.
Anyhow.
There's business to tend to tonight, and you don't need to remind the Blue Jackets. They're 12-1-1 in their last 14 games but still have yet to clinch a spot, so they should be well aware of how important this game is. Two points pushes them to the brink, and that should provide ample energy out of the chute.
Hold on tight.
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- Despite a slow start, Cam Atkinson is bringing it in the second half and is a big reason why the Blue Jackets are surging.
- It's a simple approach for the Blue Jackets this week: take care of business, one game at a time.
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