A Columbus Blue Jacket does not forget the first time he’s at home when his team scores a goal. It doesn’t matter if he’s the one who puts it in, or even if he’s sitting on the bench, preoccupied by an untied skate lace. Says left-winger Nick Foligno of the drama that ensues: It scared the crap out of me.
Welcome to Nationwide Arena. The downtown home to the Blue Jackets features a handcrafted Napoleon cannon that fires, literally—Boom!—every time a puck gets past the visiting team.
More NHL on Sportsnet:
Subscribe: Rogers GameCentre Live
Rogers Hometown Hockey | Broadcast Schedule
Sportsnet Fantasy Hockey
“That’s part of the show,” says goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky with a smile.
And what a show. If you weren’t taken by the Blue Jackets and their plucky 2013-14 post-season run backed by a diehard fan base, you weren’t watching. This franchise, born in 2000 and with just one previous playoff appearance before last season, earned a first-ever post-season win in perhaps the most dramatic fashion possible. In game two of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal, taking on the No. 2 team in the East in Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Blue Jackets were down 2-0 through just 4:27 of play. Columbus not only battled back, but took it to double OT, and Matt Calvert potted the winner to earn a 4-3 victory.
The excitement hit full boil in game four back in Columbus, where the Jackets fought back again, this time from a 3-0 deficit. Down by a goal with less than a minute to go, centreman Brandon Dubinsky took advantage of a flub by Penguins goalie Marc-André Fleury and tied things up with 23 seconds on the clock. The roof nearly blew off Nationwide. Between the third and overtime, Foligno predicted he’d be the guy to score the winner—not that he actually thought he would.
And then he went ahead and did it, giving Columbus its first-ever playoff victory at home.
“Oh my God,” Foligno says now, five months later. “The energy inside the building was incredible; it’s the loudest I’ve ever played in. I’ve played in Madison Square Garden, the list goes on and on. I’ve never experienced an arena like that.”
The run never got past the first round, of course, but the Blue Jackets’ post-season play served as a showcase for a high-energy, physical team with a penchant for clutch moments: Guys like big-hitting Boone Jenner, defenceman James Wisniewski and his big point shot, and the team’s high-scorer, Vancouver-born Ryan Johansen. This Blue Jackets roster does not include a No. 1, go-to guy the way it did when Rick Nash was in town. It’s all supporting cast.
“Everyone pulls on the rope the same way,” says Foligno. “On any given night, a different guy is stepping up to be the hero.”
No Blue Jacket answered that call in the playoffs like Dubinsky. The former New York Ranger came to Ohio in the blockbuster deal that sent Nash the other way, and he hit another gear against Pittsburgh. A 50-point scorer in the regular season, Dubinsky played in late April with an energy and toughness you can’t possibly sustain for 82 games. He not only forced OT in game four with the second-biggest goal in franchise history (Foligno’s, which came next, has to be first), he also was tasked with shadowing Crosby, and The Kid scored zero goals.
The young Blue Jackets now have the post-season experience they were lacking. They also added a key veteran piece in left-winger Scott Hartnell. His physical style, chirpiness and leadership will only add to the uptempo play Columbus fans are used to. With LeBron James back in town, and Johnny Football bringing the hype to the Cleveland Browns, it’s a good time to be a sports fan in Ohio, and it’s only fitting that the Blue Jackets are on an upward trajectory.
“What I’m most proud of and most enjoying is that we’re building an excitement and something for the fans to get behind here,” says Foligno. “I don’t think they’ve had that since opening season.”
#Lumbus, as they’re now known thanks to the L.A. Kings Twitter account, is no longer the boring-to-watch long shot.
When the Blue Jackets return to Nationwide Arena on Sat., Oct. 11, to take on the Rangers, get ready for the boom.
Says Foligno: “I wanna hear that cannon lots more.”
