The Blue Jackets--minus one big piece--are back after the All Star Break. Something tells me Alex Ovechkin won't be going out of his way to set up Johansen and Foligno tonight.

Washington Capitals at Columbus Blue Jackets

January 27, 2015 - 7:00 PM EST
Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
Radio - WBNS 97.1 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent's Blog: Japers' Rink

Man, what a difference one game can make. If the Jackets had won in Winnipeg going into the break, they're at .500, and still with an outside chance at making the playoffs. Not only did they lose, but they got smoked. AND they lost Sergei Bobrovsky for four to six weeks. Never before has the 45th game of a season felt so much like the death blow to any and all playoff hopes, however outside they may have been.

It just feels like it's all over.

In that respect, the All Star Break came at the best time. Time off to clear that out of their heads. For us fans, a break in the gnashing of teeth to celebrate our city and show it off to the hockey world. For my part, playing hockey on the outdoor rink first thing Saturday morning as the sun slowly came up... couldn't have been any cooler.

But now, we're back. It's tough to get ramped back up, with the feeling of complete dread hanging over the team now that Bob is out for essentially the rest of the (meaningful part of the) season. I know some other guys are nearing a return from injury, but I find myself wondering: what's the point? Shut 'em down, make sure everyone's 100% for next season, and try to explode on everyone like the Isles did this season.

As for this game? I don't know what to expect. I thought the first minute in Winnipeg was dominated by the Jackets... until a completely boneheaded turnover led to a soft goal. Then another easy goal for Winnipeg after another sloppy zone clear. Then Bob gets hurt. Then the sound of many liquor bottles breaking open in Columbus was heard round the world.

I don't know. The Caps were riding a solid stretch into the break, and are looking to make their playoff push. The Jackets? Who knows? Guess we'll find out tonight.

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets
(20-22-3, 43 Points; 6th division, 13th conference)

Washington Capitals
(24-13-9, 57 Points; 4th Division, 7th Conference)

Season Series

WSH - 2-0-1
CBJ - 1-1-1

11/11/14 - Columbus 2 at Washington 4
12/11/14 - Columbus 3 at Washington 2 (OT)
12/18/14 - Washington 5 at Columbus 4 (OT)
01/27/15 - Washington at Columbus
03/03/15 - Washington at Columbus

Head to Head Stats

No, not the correction fluid invented by Mike Nesmith's mom.

Let it snow. It's not like we can do anything about it...

• Even the Boston Bruins cancelled practice. The Governor of Massachusetts has not ordered a statewide travel ban like this since the blizzard of 1978.[CausewayCrowd]


• The Bruins cannot afford to stumble out of the gate in the second half. The plucky Panthers are still a factor in their playoff aspirations. [BostonHerald]


• Patrice Bergeron can wrap himself in the warm regard of his professional peers after a weekend of All-Star fun. [CausewayCrowd]


• Bergeron is also in the mix for the Selke again.[NESN ]


• Assess David Pastrnak 's progress as measured against young Bruins players of the past in this infographic. [TheBostonGlobe]


• Review the plusses and minuses of the Providence Bruins ' weekend. The PBruins are just out of the playoff picture. [ProvidenceJournal]


• The first order of business post All-Star Break will be to get past the red hot Islanders, as the Bruins look to cement a playoff spot. [TheBostonGlobe]

Elsewhere around the rink:

• Speaking of the Islanders, things just got tougher for them as well as the Blue Jackets, as Kyle Okposo and Sergei Bobrovski are now out with injuries. [PuckDaddy]


• Oh, yay. "Hockey Wives" is coming to a TV screen near you. [TheHockeyNews]


• Trade talk is rampant, but for a change the Bruins seem quiet. Calm before the storm? [TheHockeyNews]


• You have time today, sit in on a master class on statistics, specifically the shot quality metric of goals, shot attempts, and scoring chances. (With audio, 42:18) [TSN]


• Thirty Thoughts immediately tackles the news of Mike Richards heading to the AHL, plus more on the All-Star Weekend.[SportsNet]


• Look out Zdeno Chara, the guy with the fastest slapshot is in the KHL. [BarDown]


• Yet more bad behavior at local hockey rinks, this one involves fireworks, and bullies old enough to know better getting theirs. (Video *NSFW* 2:43) [BarDown]


• Al Michaels has had an interesting career as an announcer, and revisits his live call of the "Miracle on Ice" and his brush with TV fame in this interview promoting his new book, "You Can't Make This Up." (Video, 1:21:51) [Grantland]


• Revisit the best of the All-Star Weekend, and one final plea to the Columbus powers-that-be. [Grantland]


• Get out your credit cards, here're all the wonderful new innovations in sports technology you need from the Consumer Electronics Show. [SportsIllustrated]


• TV ratings were down for this year's All-Star Game. [HockeyTopics]

FUCK FUCK SHIT

An uneven performance in Columbus has the Caps on a four-game slide.

Click to enlarge

Keep up with the latest Caps-related Tweets right here:

Tweets from @JapersRink/tweet-tweeters

Look for updates in this story stream throughout the evening, including tonight's lines, new open threads for each period, and more.

And of course... have at it, people.

A game filled with too many penalties, too many goals and not enough good stuff results in the Caps' fourth-straight loss.

[GameCenter - Ice Tracker - Game Summary - Event Summary - Shot Report - Faceoff Summary - Play-by-Play - Home TOI - Visitor TOI - Advanced Stats at: war-on-ice, hockeystats, Natural Stat Trick and more via Nice Time On Ice

After dropping their third-straight game to the Oilers last week, the Caps got a nice little break courtesy of the All-Star weekend - some time to regroup, relax, and return to the type of hockey they've been playing for the better part of two months.

If they found their game over the break, it didn't show in a game that showed flashes of brilliance at times, flashes of forehead-slapping idiocy at others, and a generally sloppy return to the ice for a team that needs to keep accumulating points.

Tuesday night's Plus/Minus:

• Plus: The second line. If the Caps are going to have any success going forward, they'll need to get some consistent secondary scoring, and it starts with guys like Marcus Johansson, Troy Brouwer and Evgeny Kuznetsov. They came up big tonight, picking up two of the Caps' three goals.
• Minus: The defense. To a man, it's not good enough lately, as evidenced by the fact that they've ceded at least four goals in each of their last four games. Some of that is on the goaltending, which has sputtered a bit after being so dominant, but the guys in net need to get a little help and they're just not getting it, from forwards or defensemen.

Ten more notes on the game:

• Another night, another parade to the penalty box for the Caps. It didn't directly impact the score this time around, but the Caps took five minor penalties tonight (including one particularly ill-timed one by Nicklas Backstrom while trailing by one late in the game). Over the last four games, in fact, the Caps have been shorthanded a total of 20 times - losses, all. Not good, and something one would imagine could be easily fixed.
• Thankfully the Caps' penalty kill, with some help from Braden Holtby and a bit of luck, was more effective than usual tonight. Five penalties, five kills? That's one way to boost your penalty-killing rate.
• At some point you have to wonder if the Caps' record when giving up the game's first goal is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy, because once again they failed to strike first and now have just one win in the 19 games in which their opponent has gotten the first goal. Of course, if you want a silver lining (and we could all use one at the moment), those 19 trail-first games are tied for the second-fewest in the League. Only Pittsburgh and the Rangers have fewer, both having given up the first goal just 16 times.
• Columbus fans may not have been so thrilled with Ryan Johansen during his contract discussions over the summer, but they certainly love him now - and for good reason. He's really good at hockey, something which was on display all weekend at the All-Star festivities and continued through to tonight, where he gave the home team a two-goal lead with a ridiculous shot past Holtby.
• The Caps continue to come up with quick answers to goals (albeit not enough these days) and did so again in this one, the first of which came when a Matt Niskanen shot from the point deflected off of Andre Burakovsky to give the Caps their first goal of the evening and cut the lead in half.
• And oh, by the way, the secondary assist on that goal was picked up by none other than Nicklas Backstrom, giving him 400 assists in just his 541st-career game. A nice milestone in a rather up-and-down game for Nick, who had his chin blown open by a point shot (that eventually made its way into the net) and took a penalty. But more on that in a minute.
• After opening the game with twenty scoreless minutes, the Caps and Jackets went a little nuts in the second frame, scoring five goals by the final whistle - including four in the last five minutes of the period (and a goal apiece in the last minute). Exciting, but perhaps not the type of game a visiting team should get into with an opponent capable of scoring in bunches.
• That chaotic second period included a goal from the second line of Johansson, Brouwer, and Kuznetsov, part of a strong performance overall by the trio. Brouwer's deflection with 20 seconds to go in the second brought the Caps to within one, and was the team's second quick-response goal, just 36 seconds after Columbus jumped up 3-1. And late in the third, it was Kuznetsov picking up his fifth goal of the season - and first in over a month - with a nice play on a big rebound to give the Caps a bit of hope as they once again drew within one.
• Ah, but if you know anything about this Caps' team of late, it's that they like to shoot themselves in the foot with ill-timed penalties - and as if on cue, there was Nicklas Backstrom taking yet another minor with less than three minutes in regulation. Granted, the Blue Jackets didn't score on the ensuing power play, but they didn't have to; they succeeded in keeping the Caps out of the offensive zone, eating up the clock and effectively ending any chance of a comeback. Just one of many such late-game infractions by the Caps in general, and Backstrom specifically, this year.
• The Caps' defense, once a source of strength for this team, has really fallen flat over the last week. Take your pick of goats, whether it's the stumbling duo of John Carlson and Brooks Orpik, the suddenly ineffective play of Niskanen or just the entire team as a whole, from the goalie on up to the forwards. No one should escape the blame here, and the scary part is that the schedule gets very tight and tough over the next few weeks - with very little time to fix things in practice.

So the Caps fail to pick up a point for the third time in their last four games, and drop their fourth straight overall, in an uneven effort. Call it rust if you want, but the Jackets had the same amount of time off - as did the rest of the League. Right now the Caps are simply floundering a bit, and it needs to be fixed fast. Too many goals against, too many penalties, and too many missed opportunities that could cost them in the end.

And now, this...

Game highlights:

Over the weekend the NHL community got to watch a wide-open contest in Columbus. Last night, the Caps looked like they were still in All-Star Game mode, defensively.

The Washington Capitals resumed their season last night with a game against the Division-rival Columbus Blue Jackets. On Sunday night, the League and its fans got to see what happens when a group of Mostly Stars gets together and chooses not to play defense, giving skilled opponents all the time and space they want or need: 29 goals happen.

Last night, Caps and Blue Jackets fans got to see what happens when a team of regular NHL players chooses not to play defense, giving skilled opponents all the time and space they want or need. Not quite 29 goals, but a pretty productive night for Columbus' top line. No play better epitomized the lax defensive coverage from the Caps than Ryan Johansen's goal. Take a look at the complete lack of defensive urgency:

The play starts off with a turnover in the offensive zone (and if you want to know why Barry Trotzprefers a more conservative, cycling approach to offense, here's why) and it looks like Brooks Orpik is going to be caught defending a two-on-one. A great backcheck from John Carlson and Brooks Laich, however, negates that advantage for Columbus:

At this point the Caps have three defenders back against two attackers. It's great defensive posture to be aggressive. Instead, Orpik makes no attempt to take away Nick Foligno's time and space, literally giving him a controlled zone entry and allowing him to set up below the goal line. Orpik never pressures wider than the faceoff dots, and pulls up as Foligno crosses the goal line. His stick is constantly in position to take away the cross-ice pass, which would be great if there were a cross-ice passing option for Foligno.

The Blue Jackets all catch up to the play and drive the net hard, ultimately ending up with four men down low. The Caps respond with numbers and collapse to the net. Things are looking alright, despite the easy transition and zone entry for the Jackets:

That's pretty decent coverage. Eric Fehr is committing to Jared Boll, who is in the most dangerous scoring position. The red arrow shows you where Ryan Johansen is. He'll score the goal in just a second:

In just a second things fall apart. Ward and Laich both swing to the left wing side. Fehr stays down in the slot (as a center, that's probably his defensive responsibility there). Nobody stays with Johansen, and he makes the Caps pay.

The Caps have had their share of breakdowns this season, but lax defensive play and attention to detail in coverage (especially from the top defensive pair and putative shutdown line) can't make the coaching staff happy. They're now in the midst of a four-game losing streak, and things don't get any easier with a tough match up against the Penguins (on the second night in a row, no less) coming up tonight. The Blue Jackets only have one line that can beat you, and the Caps couldn't manage to stop it. The Penguins, it's safe to say, have more than one line that can beat you (although it's not quite as dire if Evgeni Malkin can't go). The Caps are going to need to play with more defensive urgency if they want to turn things around tonight.

After a fantastic performance throughout All Star Weekend, Ryan Johansen has cemented his place as an NHL Star. But the Blue Jackets want more.

There's no question that the city of Columbus was a big winner after All Star Weekend, but Ryan Johansen cleaned up pretty well, too.

First pick at the Fantasy draft, winner of the breakaway challenge, and winner of three twitter popular votes, including the overall All Star Game MVP award (which, let's be honest, was highway robbery), and named the first star of the week by the NHL to top it all off.

Not bad, considering the turmoil of this past offseason.

After all the turmoil of his offseason holdout, Johansen came into this season with intent, and at this point is well on his way to another 30+ goal season.

So why are we hearing about the organization demanding more?

The answer isn't just that they see Johansen as needing to become "a complete player" - it's that they want him to be more than a player. When the team asks him to look at guys like Toews, Kane, and Stamkos, that's a pretty clear message.

These are guys who are certainly excellent players, and certainly "faces" of their respective franchises, but those three in particular take it to another level. Those three aren't just ambassadors for a single team - they're representatives of the NHL as an organization. I'd even argue that their performances in the Olympics and other international competitions have made them representatives of hockey as a sport.

That's not to say that they've always been there - Kane, in particular, has had more than a few...problems in his past, and he's had a lot of growing up to do. But these days they're players with massive name recognition, and quite a bit of respect.

So can Johansen make it to that level?

There's no question he has the skills - the last two seasons have shown that he's capable of playing at an elite level, and his performance this weekend showed not only ability, but the great personality that we've been able to see come out as he's become a larger voice in the room.

The missing piece - as was suggested by the Yahoo article - seems to be a level of maturity. The ability to play hard on both sides of the puck and have fun, but also know how to present yourself, win or lose, with professionalism and grace at all times.

He has to be prepared to represent a lot more than himself.

This weekend was a pretty positive step in that direction, but it's pretty easy to be a great "face" during a weekend long party where it all comes up Millhouse.

Now he's back to playing for a team that's suffered some major setbacks this year, that's scrapping for even the hope of a playoff chance, and has just lost their star goalie.

The way he responds, on ice and off, will tell us quite a bit about how Ryan Johansen has matured over the past couple of years - and how much he's been paying attention to the players that have been pointed out as examples to emulate.

I suspect the organization will be watching very carefully.

Columbus should be proud of themselves with the impression they left the hockey community with this weekend. They took hold of an event a few years in the making and made it memorable for fans and players, both in the city and around the continent.

There are plenty of things from the weekend that Nashville should take stock of, as well as things they can do to make the experience even more enjoyable.

Flaunt the Personality of the City

Nashville has more than enough to go around, and for visitors expecting boots and cowboy hats for a weekend, why not give it to them?

Say what you will about the frequency of the Cannon, but that thing is so uniquely Blue Jackets that they would be kicking themselves if they didn't use it at every chance they could. People are going to be talking about its All-Star assault for years, which means they did everything right.

Music is the staple of the city, so beat that dead horse until it comes back to life. The locals may get sick of it, but it will leave a mark with the tourists.

The Fantasy Draft in Columbus was held in a tiny corner of the Fan Fair, only open to a small group of fans. But they don't have the Ryman. Or heck, even have it at Bridgestone so everyone can come. The outdoor skating rink was great...can you imagine this somewhere on Broadway?

Plaster Downtown (and Beyond) With Predators Faces

You've probably started to notice more people wearing Preds gear out in public than in recent memory. The exciting, bordering on elite team that has manifested this year has reinvigorated a loyal fan base. It's also left the door wide open for newbies to jump on the bandwagon, especially when Nashville has the opportunity to be successful for several more years.

With that in mind, the organization and the city should go out of its way to make sure you can hardly turn a corner without seeing a giant Pekka Rinne or Filip Forsberg telling you when the game is. In Columbus, Nationwide Arena was covered head to toe with logos, Blue Jackets and other NHL players. Throughout the entire Arena District, banners hung from light poles, entire buses were dressed up in All-Star garb, and the branding was everywhere. Even if you weren't a big hockey fan you got the sense something big was happening January 23-25.

The internal hockey world may hate the ASG (more on that in a second), but the casual fan or ignorant local doesn't know that. If the Music City Center is adorned with Shea Webers, James Neals, Sidney Crosbys and Tyler Seguins, and seemingly every street has some sort of gold in sight, they'll see it as a huge deal. That can generate even more interest at a time when the team has the highest chance of putting butts in Bridgestone seats.

(Also, this would be a great chance to use and promote The Green Line, which is a free bus route that circulates around the city. If the city wanted to test further, make a Gold Line that runs from the 5th/Broadway area into West End/Midtown. Columbus had crosswalks from the convention center directly to many of the hotels. Nashville doesn't have that, but can offer some simple transportation solutions to ease accessibility to the area for this event. And who knows, they may actually stick. -DB)

Prepare for the Grumps That Hate the Game, Then Ignore Them

Look, the actual All-Star Game is not real hockey but, like mentioned above, that still doesn't stop plenty of people (in the media and elsewhere) from endlessly complaining about it. The important thing to remember is that has nothing to do with Nashville personally. Hell, if anything, more people are excited about coming to Nashville for that weekend than any other city in recent memory. They might even make it to some of the events, should their hangovers dissipate in time.

If there was anything we learned in Columbus, it was that the entire weekend is less about the events and more about promoting a product and showing off the best parts of the city. We probably had more fun playing jersey bingo, talking to locals and tourists alike, and just basking in the atmosphere created by hundreds of diverse fans converging on one location. For all the moaning and groaning the two hours worth of half-speed skating gets, there are countless more worth enjoying. Sean Gentillie of the Sporting News said it best:

Just let the game be what it is; cotton candy. Marshmallow fluff. Nothing substantive. If it organically assumes a different form down the line, fine, but right now, take it at face value. The fantasy draft, at long last, is a blast. The Skills Competition is guaranteed to provide a few memories. That's enough.

When Ordering Merchandise, Double-Check Your Math

There's no question that game merchandise was very popular in Columbus. Two players on the "Home" team didn't hurt...in fact, we heard from a Confidential Source that the entire city was nearly out of the black home jersey a couple of hours before the game on Sunday, along with several other items. I wonder if the run on gear had anything to do with Columbus being a small-market team not accustomed to being awarded too many league-wide events? And does this sound like another city you know? I'm anticipating demand will be VERY HIGH here next year. Hopefully, the team will plan accordingly.

(From a fan perspective, make a note to yourself to purchase early next year if you see something you like. I had my eye on one particular item at the Fan Fair on Saturday, but since I was "working" and didn't really want to lug it around all day, I waited. When we went to the Fan Fair on Sunday, it was cleaned out. I'm talking like half the area had been emptied out, and the rest had been picked over pretty good. I got extremely lucky to find what I wanted at the arena, and if I had arrived about 30 minutes after I did, I would've missed out. Pull the trigger early...you'll be glad you did.-JZ)

(And never underestimate the amount of people that would actually buy a James Neal/Craig Smith ASG jersey if named a captain. I couldn't take 12 steps anywhere without seeing a Nick Foligno jersey. And credit to that guy, he probably had more fun that anyone and seems like a great teammate. -DB)

Embrace the Entertainment Component

This can't be stressed enough. Between the players actually showing personality (Jonathan Toews knows jokes?), hamming it up for the fans during the Skills Competition, and putting live music on the ice, there is so much room showmanship. Especially in an entertainment centered city like Nashville.

Could you imagine what it would be like if the NHL could lock down noted Preds fans Taylor Swift and/or Brad Paisley as their musical acts? Say what you will about the choice of musicians in the past, and how that's a crazy pipe dream, but those type of names would garner major attention. What if the Black Keys played "Gold on the Ceiling" while the players were introduced before the game? They have ties to the city as well.

Coupled with how entertaining the Fantasy Draft was this year, and how much fun the Skills Competition can be every year, there is so much room for upward mobility. This may be something the league itself could learn from Columbus, rather than Nashville personally, but imagine the steely gaze of the captain of Team Weber mixed with the jovial antics of the captain of Team Ovechkin.

Those are our immediate takeaways. What did you see this weekend that you want done in Nashville? What about things you want the league to completely stay away from? Sound off in the comments.

Three power play goals on Tuesday a sign of things to come?

• WHO:Florida Panthers (20-15-10 50P) vs Columbus Blue Jackets (21-22-3 45P)
• WHEN: 7:30 p.m. ET - LBC GameThread at 7ish
• WHERE: BB&T Center - MiamiFt. Lauderdale Sunrise, FL
• TICKETS:Single Game
• WHERE TO WATCH: Fox Sports Florida, Fox Sports Ohio
• WHERE TO LISTEN: WQAM 560
• ENEMY INTEL:The Cannon
• FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 3 of 3 (0-1-1)
• ALL-TIME VS CBJ: 4W-8L-0T 3OTL 2SOL 38GF 53GA
• PLAYER STATS:Florida / Lumbus
• NOTES: Recent AHL all-star D Alex Petrovic was recalled from San Antonio Wednesday

*

Last game for the Cats:5-4 regulation loss at the BB&T Tuesday to Detroit

Past five: 0-4-0-1 11GF 22GA (streak: 5 losses)

Last game for the Jacks: 4-3 regulation home victory over Washington Tuesday

Past five: 3-2 11GF 11GA (streak: 1 win)

*

NHL Preview:

*

Thursday around the Atlantic Division (full standings / playoff chances):

• BOSTON (25-16-7 57P) at NY Islanders (32-14-1 65P), 7:00
• MONTREAL (30-13-3 63P) at NY Rangers (27-14-4 58P), 7:00 NBCSN
• Arizona (16-25-6 38P) at TORONTO (22-23-4 48P), 7:30
• Dallas (21-19-7 49P) at OTTAWA (19-18-9 47P), 7:30
• DETROIT (28-11-9 65P) at TAMPA BAY (30-15-4 64P), 7:30
• BUFFALO (14-31-3 31P) at Edmonton (12-27-9 33P), 9:30

*

Panthers, SoFla Media & Loyal Opposition on the Tweets

*

The Jackets travel to sunny Florida--I'm guessing no freezing rain there, this morning--to take on the Panthers as they look to once again climb to .500 for the season while welcoming back Artem Anisimov.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Florida Panthers

January 29, 2015 - 7:30 pm EST
BB&T Center - Sunrise, Florida
Radio - WWCD 102.5 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent's Blog: Litter Box Cats

OK, a few things first:

1) WELCOME BACK, ARTY! Artem Anisimov is back, after missing a boat-load of games (23, to be exact) with a torn triceps. He draws in on the third line, bumping Alex Wennberg to wing. I am very OK with this move, though I might have flip flopped and let Arty draw in at wing. Either way, I'm glad they're both in the lineup.

2) In the interest of fairness after reflecting on the ebb and flow of the whole Boll discussion, I think it's important to note that I simply don't get why Corey Tropp gets moved up to a scoring line. One nice pass to Letestu? Really? I'll be interested to see how long this lasts, as I find it to be a silly move overall, as Tropp is not much less of a possession anchor than is Boll. He's another guy that I am just not seeing what the club must see in him. And that doesn't even get into my personal biases against him (simply Google "corey tropp steve kampfer" if you don't know that story). This does not bode well for Jack Skille's future in Columbus past even the trading deadline, one would think.

3) Even though it's not a likely outcome, until it's mathematically done, let's look at the standings. The Jackets are 12 points out of a playoff spot. BUT... Florida sits in ninth place, just five points in front of Columbus, though they have a game in hand. To get into the discussion for 8th, Columbus first needs to pass the four teams in front of them also behind Boston:
Philadelphia - 47 points, 49 games played
Ottawa - 47 points, 46 games played
Toronto - 48 points, 49 games played
Florida - 50 points, 45 games played

Those teams are all easily catchable, as Columbus is just three points behind three of them, and has games in hand on two of them. Baby steps, people. Tonight is the chance for a proverbial four-pointer, and could put all five teams within three points of each other. The logjam for first loser!

At any rate, it's been awhile since these teams last met, with Columbus sweeping a home-and-home, the latter of which was That Game With The 55 Shots that Columbus somehow stole in a shootout after being completely run over en route to blowing an early second period 3-0 lead. Let's not see that again, please.

Florida has lost five in a row (0-4-1), and eight of 12 (4-6-2) as they've fallen off the playoff pace. If Columbus can come out and drive play like they did for most of the last half of the game Tuesday against the Caps, they should be able to come out ahead on Special Teams as well. This would be a recipe for success!

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets
(21-22-3, 45 Points; 6th division, 13th conference)

Florida Panthers
(20-15-10, 50 Points; 5th Division, 9th Conference)

Season Series

FLA - 0-1-1
CBJ - 2-0-0

12/01/14 - Florida 1 at Columbus 2
12/04/14 - Columbus 4 at Florida 3 (SO)
01/29/15 - Columbus at Florida

Head to Head Stats

The Jackets travel to sunny Florida--I'm guessing no freezing rain there, this morning--to take on the Panthers as they look to once again climb to .500 for the season while welcoming back Artem Anisimov.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Florida Panthers

January 29, 2015 - 7:30 pm EST
BB&T Center - Sunrise, Florida
Radio - WWCD 102.5 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent's Blog: Litter Box Cats

OK, a few things first:

1) WELCOME BACK, ARTY! Artem Anisimov is back, after missing a boat-load of games (23, to be exact) with a torn triceps. He draws in on the third line, bumping Alex Wennberg to wing. I am very OK with this move, though I might have flip flopped and let Arty draw in at wing. Either way, I'm glad they're both in the lineup.

2) In the interest of fairness after reflecting on the ebb and flow of the whole Boll discussion, I think it's important to note that I simply don't get why Corey Tropp gets moved up to a scoring line. One nice pass to Letestu? Really? I'll be interested to see how long this lasts, as I find it to be a silly move overall, as Tropp is not much less of a possession anchor than is Boll. He's another guy that I am just not seeing what the club must see in him. And that doesn't even get into my personal biases against him (simply Google "corey tropp steve kampfer" if you don't know that story). This does not bode well for Jack Skille's future in Columbus past even the trading deadline, one would think.

3) Even though it's not a likely outcome, until it's mathematically done, let's look at the standings. The Jackets are 12 points out of a playoff spot. BUT... Florida sits in ninth place, just five points in front of Columbus, though they have a game in hand. To get into the discussion for 8th, Columbus first needs to pass the four teams in front of them also behind Boston:
Philadelphia - 47 points, 49 games played
Ottawa - 47 points, 46 games played
Toronto - 48 points, 49 games played
Florida - 50 points, 45 games played

Those teams are all easily catchable, as Columbus is just three points behind three of them, and has games in hand on two of them. Baby steps, people. Tonight is the chance for a proverbial four-pointer, and could put all five teams within three points of each other. The logjam for first loser!

At any rate, it's been awhile since these teams last met, with Columbus sweeping a home-and-home, the latter of which was That Game With The 55 Shots that Columbus somehow stole in a shootout after being completely run over en route to blowing an early second period 3-0 lead. Let's not see that again, please.

Florida has lost five in a row (0-4-1), and eight of 12 (4-6-2) as they've fallen off the playoff pace. If Columbus can come out and drive play like they did for most of the last half of the game Tuesday against the Caps, they should be able to come out ahead on Special Teams as well. This would be a recipe for success!

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets
(21-22-3, 45 Points; 6th division, 13th conference)

Florida Panthers
(20-15-10, 50 Points; 5th Division, 9th Conference)

Season Series

FLA - 0-1-1
CBJ - 2-0-0

12/01/14 - Florida 1 at Columbus 2
12/04/14 - Columbus 4 at Florida 3 (SO)
01/29/15 - Columbus at Florida

Head to Head Stats

LBC's Live Discussion and Commentary Forum: Game 46

Florida breaks their season long five-game losing streak, and get their first win against the Blue Jackets in over seven years.

The Columbus Blue Jackets came into the BB&T Center one game shy of .500, and the Panthers had an active five-game losing streak. That all changed in front of the sparse crowd in Sunrise.

After a scoreless first period, the game started to take shape early in the second. Jack Johnson lit the lamp for his fifth goal of the season, assisted by Cam Atkinson and Nick Foligno with just over a minute gone. The Panthers answered less than two minutes later with Jonathan Huberdeau’s ninth. Huberdeau collected the loose puck in front of Curtis McElhinney and banged it home. Assists went to Brad Boyes and Aleksander Barkov.

Aaron Ekblad lit the lamp for the seventh time this year as the period turned twelve minutes old with a laser from the point. Brian Campbell and the much-maligned Dave Bolland earned the helpers on the play. Soon afterward, the Cats went on the penalty kill when Sean Bergenheim was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, but the ensuing power play was unproductive for the Jackets.

With just over a minute left in the period, Alexander Wennberg thwacked the puck out of the air with the shaft of his stick, sending the biscuit tumbling past Roberto Luongo. Play stopped for a few minutes while the play was reviewed. There was apparently some question as to whether the puck was deflected off Wennberg’s glove and if the stick was above the crossbar. In the end, the goal was good for his second of the season. Artem Anisimov and Josh Anderson earned assists on the play. The period ended with a Blue Jackets power play after Erik Gudbranson sliced the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty.

The third period didn’t see much in the way of chances for either team until seven minutes remained in the game, when Bergenheim redirected a Dmitry Kulikov shot past McElhinney for a 3-2 lead. At the same moment, Johnson high-sticked Bergy in the face and earned a four-minute minor penalty. Since the penalty occured at the same moment as the goal, the penalty was reduced to two minutes.

With just over a minute remaining, the Jackets pulled the goaltender to try and solve Luongo and send the contest into an extra frame, but were ultimately unsuccessful.

Check back in the AM for Todd's more in-depth recap, and keep it here for all of your Florida Panthers news.

Cedric "The Dump Truck" Paquette recorded his first NHL hat trick to pace the Lightning to a 5-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings in Tampa Thursday night, allowing the Bolts to leapfrog Detroit in the Atlantic Division standings and establish a new team record with nine consecutive home wins.

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 in front of a sellout crowd of 19,204 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Thursday night.

With the post-All Star portion of the season underway and a tight knot at the top of the Atlantic Division (a single point separates Tampa Bay, Montreal and Detroit for the top three slots), whoever is in first is liable to change on a day-to-day basis. Currently, that spot belongs to the Tampa Bay Lightning because they took it by force. Entering tonight's game a point behind the leaders from Detroit, the Lightning relied on a thoroughly dominant and explosive second period to send the visitors home in third, setting a new franchise record for consecutive home wins with nine in the process.

In what was a somewhat sluggish opening period for both teams, Cedric Paquette opened the scoring at 2:03, giving the Lightning the early lead thanks to assists from Alex Killorn and Jason Garrison.

As is always the case when Detroit visits, there were plenty of red sweaters in the stands. A huge penalty kill with Brett Connolly picking up a four minute roughing call helped in terms of momentum, at least for the home team fans.

Detroit tied the game at 11:59 on a goal by Darren Helm who was allowed to skate right in on Lightning goalie Ben Bishop to score at close range. He was assisted on the play by Jonathan Ericsson and Pavel Datsyuk.

What looked like was going to be a tight, back-and-forth contest, with the Red Wings looking a bit more sharp than the Lightning, was underway.

Paquette struck again with only :37 remaining in the period  and everything changed. He was assisted this time by Jonathan Drouin and Killorn.

The Lightning carried the 2-1 advantage into the first intermission.

At 4:18 of the second, Steven Stamkos cashed in on the power play, getting help from Anton Stralman and Drouin.

The Lightning got another special teams goal, this time shorthanded as Paquette scored (unassisted) his third of the night, to collect his first NHL hat trick at 11;03.

"I didn't realize in the moment honestly. I wanted to pass to Boyler (Brian Boyle) but at the same time, I tried to go for the hat trick and I think I did a pretty good job." - Paquette

"I couldn't have been happier for Ceddy Paquette. He was feeling it tonight. The boys were really happy for him. He earned it. That kid's been gaming it out forever for us, trying to find his way and pucks haven't been going in, and they went in tonight for him. He earned every break he got tonight." - head coach Jon Cooper

Mark Barberio capped off the scoring for the period and the game, blasting a slapshot past Detroit netminder Petr Mrazek at 17:39. Andrej Sustr and Tyler Johnson chipped in with assists on the play.

With Tampa Bay up 5-1 on just 15 shots, Detroit replaced Mrazek with Tom McCollum to start the third. McCollum would go on to stop all 17 shots he faced during the final frame and the fireworks were over. For his part, Ben Bishop went all the way for the Lightning, stopping 27 of 28 shots.

The Lightning will close out the month on Saturday when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets before beginning a February that will only see them at the Amalie Arena four times.

Game notes:

• The last time the Lightning lost at home was on December 9th, 5-3 to the Washington Capitals.
• This was the second of four regular season meetings between the Red Wings and Tampa Bay, The Lightning picked up a 4-3 shootout win in Detroit on November 9th.
• Paquette is one shy of being the eighth Lightning player to register double digits in goals so far this season. Brian Boyle hit the milestone in Tuesday's loss at Carolina.
• Bishop has won nine of his last ten decisions.
• Tampa Bay is now 7-11-1 plus a tie all-time at home vs Detroit.
• Datsyuk passed Nick Libett and tied Ted Lindsay for 11th all-time in games played for the Red Wings with 862.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning honored Ros Miller as the 25th Lightning Community Hero of the season during the first period of tonight's game. Miller, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to Moffitt Cancer Center. Tonight's Lightning Community Hero has positively affected the Tampa Bay community in more ways than one. She has spent 11 years volunteering at the Florida Holocaust Museum providing awareness to hundreds of children and adults, to help prevent a re-occurrence of that horrific time in history. Having lost a daughter who was a non-smoker to stage IV lung cancer, Miller has been committed to creating awareness and raising funds to combat this deadly disease. She has carried out this mission by starting Jillian's Dream in 2014, a partnership with Uniting Against Lung Cancer, a 501 (c) 3 organization, to help find a cure for lung cancer in honor of her late daughter Jillian. Through Miller's efforts, Jillian's Dream has raised over $80,000 toward lung cancer research.

Cats finally beat Columbus to finish ugly homestand 1-3-1

It wasn't easy, but the Florida Panthers managed to kill two birds with one stone last night. The 3-2 win over Columbus was the club's first over the Blue Jackets since 2007 and more importantly, ended a five-game losing streak.The Panthers wrapped up the five-game homestand with a disappointing 1-3-1 record.

The teams took turns outplaying each other in the first period. Columbus was getting the better of things until a slashing penalty on Scott Hartnell at 11:37. The Panthers carried the play the rest of the way, but came up empty on a pair of power plays.

Jack Johnson bagged the game's first goal by blasting a shot past Roberto Luongo's glove at 1:08 of the second frame. Cam Atkinson and Nick Foligno got the assists with some crisp passing in the Florida zone.

The Panthers struck back quickly, evening the tilt on Jonathan Huberdeau's ninth of the season. Huberdeau dug Brad Boyes' pass out of this skates and backhanded the puck by Curtis McElhinney. Aleksander Barkov picked up the secondary helper, giving him 10 points in his last 10 outings.

Midway through the period, Aaron Ekblad put the Cats on top with his seventh. Eggs took a shot from the blue line that was deflected on its way into the cage. Brian Campbell and Dave Bolland collected the assists on the even-strength marker.

Florida had Columbus on the ropes, but the Blue Jackets used a bunt to tie the game at two with 1:26 remaining in the stanza.

Swedish rookie Alexander Wennberg knocked Artem Anisimov's pass out of the air for his second career goal. The play went to review but Wennberg's stick was clearly under the bar, sending the teams to their respective dressing rooms in a dead heat.

The decisive moment of the third period came with 6:52 remaining, when Sean Bergenheim deflected Dmitry Kulikov's shot from the point by McElhinney to end years of futility at the hands of the Blue Jackets.  A review was needed, but once again the goal stood. Alex Petrovic, just up from AHL San Antonio, also drew an assist for his second NHL point.

Bergenheim got high-sticked in the yap by Johnson on the play, but the Cats would fail to add to their lead on the power play.

The Blue Jackets would put heavy pressure on the Panthers in the waning moments with McElhinney on the bench for an extra attacker. Fortunately, Luongo was able to hold them at bay and put an end to Florida's five-game losing streak.

The win pulled Florida within six points of the New York Rangers for the second Wild Card spot. The Cats trail surging Boston by seven points with three games in hand, so the Bruins remain the most accessible target.

Odds & Ends

• The victory was Florida's first over Columbus since a 5-2 win on November 21, 2007, ending a ten-game slump. Not beating another perennial also-ran like the Blue Jackets for over seven yahrens is just another example of why this team is where it's at.
• Sean Bergenheim was all over the score sheet last night. Bergy had the GWG, 2 shots and a whopping 14 PIM.
• Roberto Luongo finished the game with 31 saves for his 17th win, while his counterpart Curtis McElhinney finished with 28, including sharp breakaway stops on Brandon  Pirri and Aaron Ekblad in the second period.
• Ryan Johansen fired a game-high six shots at Luongo, but came up empty.
• Shawn Thornton returned to the fold after a lengthy layoff. Thornton finsihed with 2 shots on goal and four hits in 10:59 TOI.
• Alex Petrovic logged 11:05 TPI in his 2014-15 Panther debut. He did look a little shaky at first, but settled down and picked up a helper on Bergy's winner.
• Despite their recent slide, the Panthers are 5-5-1 in January and can end the month with a winning record if they beat New Jersey on Saturday.
• The Cannon has the other side of Florida's streak-buster, check it out.

Florida excelled at getting the puck out of the zone last night. Each of the 18 players who suited up finished with Corsi%'s above their zone starts.

The short of it

Sean Bergenheim, Aaron Ekblad, and Jonathan Huberdeau scored goals, and Roberto Luongo turned aside 30 for his 18th win of the season. Recap here.

The first period would see the Jackets outshooting the Panthers in the early going, getting seven shots on goal to two for the Cats through the first nine minutes of the game. Florida closed the gap later in the frame, which saw each team put 13 shots on goal and direct 20 shots at their respective opposing goaltenders. In second period, each team scored twice. The Panthers did it on 11 shots, and the Jackets did it with seven. The Corsi difference was much more narrow, favoring the Cats 15-14. The third period would see the Panthers slowly pull away from Columbus in shot generation, culminating with Sean Bergenheim's goal/high-stick trick with seven minutes left in regulation. After that, you can see the Jackets' productivity spike as they scrambled to solve Bobby Lou.

Florida Panthers

• Every Florida player had a Corsi% above their Zone Start%. The biggest winner in C-ZS difference was Sasha Barkov, who started just three of his 22 shifts in the offensive zone but still managed to be present for 57% positive Corsi events. Jonathan Huberdeau and Brad Boyes had similar success.
• Startlingly, the only Panther to reach even just a modest 50% Zone Start was Sean Bergenheim. Every other Cat had Zone Starts drastically below half. This is indicative of most shifts starting on the defensive side of the ice.
• Jimmy Hayes actually started zero of his 19 shifts on the offensive side, but 22% of shots generated with him in the mix were toward the opposition.
• The overarching factoid to take out of this table is that Florida does a great job of getting the puck out of the defensive zone.

Columbus Blue Jackets

• Directly converse to the Florida bunch, the Jackets didn't have anyone even close to breaking even in C-ZS. James Wisniewski came the closest, helping to generate a 68% Corsi while starting 77% of the time on Florida's side of the ice.
• Most of the Columbus team had Corsi%'s better than 50%. Only Jack Johnson, Mark Savard, and Jared Boll rated out with less than 40%.
• Five Blue Jackets started 100% of their shifts in Florida's zone.

It might seem to you on first blush that these numbers must be heavily influenced by power plays, but that simply wasn't the case last night. Florida was on the power play for six minutes, and Columbus had the advantage for four. That would explain away some of the Panthers slanted bias, but not every single player.

Tomorrow night, the Panthers will visit the New Jersey Devils for a 7:30 faceoff.

Three power play goals on Tuesday a sign of things to come?

• WHO:Florida Panthers (20-15-10 50P) vs Columbus Blue Jackets (21-22-3 45P)
• WHEN: 7:30 p.m. ET - LBC GameThread at 7ish
• WHERE: BB&T Center - MiamiFt. Lauderdale Sunrise, FL
• TICKETS:Single Game
• WHERE TO WATCH: Fox Sports Florida, Fox Sports Ohio
• WHERE TO LISTEN: WQAM 560
• ENEMY INTEL:The Cannon
• FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 3 of 3 (0-1-1)
• ALL-TIME VS CBJ: 4W-8L-0T 3OTL 2SOL 38GF 53GA
• PLAYER STATS:Florida / Lumbus
• NOTES: Recent AHL all-star D Alex Petrovic was recalled from San Antonio Wednesday

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Last game for the Cats:5-4 regulation loss at the BB&T Tuesday to Detroit

Past five: 0-4-0-1 11GF 22GA (streak: 5 losses)

Last game for the Jacks: 4-3 regulation home victory over Washington Tuesday

Past five: 3-2 11GF 11GA (streak: 1 win)

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NHL Preview:

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Thursday around the Atlantic Division (full standings / playoff chances):

• BOSTON (25-16-7 57P) at NY Islanders (32-14-1 65P), 7:00
• MONTREAL (30-13-3 63P) at NY Rangers (27-14-4 58P), 7:00 NBCSN
• Arizona (16-25-6 38P) at TORONTO (22-23-4 48P), 7:30
• Dallas (21-19-7 49P) at OTTAWA (19-18-9 47P), 7:30
• DETROIT (28-11-9 65P) at TAMPA BAY (30-15-4 64P), 7:30
• BUFFALO (14-31-3 31P) at Edmonton (12-27-9 33P), 9:30

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Panthers, SoFla Media & Loyal Opposition on the Tweets

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On this Gasparilla Saturday the Tampa Bay Lightning (31-15-4) host the Columbus Blue Jackets (21-23-3)).

The Jackets will need a much better effort than they showed on Thursday in a loss to the Panthers if they want to defeat the high-octane Bolts.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning

January 31, 2015 - 7:30 pm EST
Amalie Arena - Tampa, Florida
Radio - 97.1 The Fan - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent's Blog: Raw Charge

After getting Artem Anisimov back last game, the Jackets welcome back another injured regular in defenseman Ryan Murray. At this point we don't know where he'll slide into the lineup, but my guess is with Fedor Tyutin, in place of Dalton Prout.

We also don't have confirmation of the goalie matchup yet, but look for Curtis McElhinney vs. Ben Bishop.

The Jackets were sloppy Thursday in a loss to the Panthers, and they absolutely cannot continue that tonight against the Lightning. Tampa Bay is the highest scoring team in the league, with many weapons distributed throughout their lineup.

Tampa is coming off a big 5-1 victory over the Red Wings, a statement game which gave the Lightning back sole possession of first in the Eastern Conference. Cedric Paquette potted the hat trick.

Steven Stamkos is red-hot, and even if his line is shut down, the Jackets still have to deal with the very potent second line of Ondrej Palat - Tyler Johnson - Nikita Kucherov. This line has been a bit cold of late however, and the Jackets want to keep it that way.

The Jackets will need to grind and muck, forcing Tampa into making mistakes and taking penalties. Disrupting the Lightning game plan and converting on the powerplay is what Columbus needs to do to steal a victory tonight.

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets 
(21-23-3, 45 Points; 6th division, 13th conference)

Tampa Bay Lightning
(31-15-4, 66 Points; 1st Division, 1st Conference)

Season Series

TB - 1-1-0
CBJ - 1-1-0

11/08/14 - Columbus 4 vs Tampa Bay 7
12/06/14 - Columbus 3 at Tampa Bay 1
01/31/15 - Columbus at Tampa Bay

Head to Head Stats

Sergei Bobrovsky would be proud.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are going to need the absolute best from their backup netminders while Sergei Bobrovsky recovers from an injury over the next few weeks.

And by absolute best, we mean saves like the one Curtis McElhinney made on a breakaway attempt by Tampa Bay's Ryan Callahan on Saturday.

Considering the Jackets were on the penalty kill and already down a goal, the odds couldn't have been more stacked against McElhinney. And he still made the save look easy.

Struggling to mount much of an offensive attack for most of the night, the Tampa Bay Lightning found enough of an extra gear in the final ten minutes to put away the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa on Saturday night.

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 in front of a Gasparilla Saturday night crowd of 18,477.

It wasn't pretty as the Lightning nursed a one-goal lead for most of the night against a hard-working, physical Columbus squad until they seemed to find their footing in the final ten minutes, but the end result was a win, extending the franchise-record for consecutive home wins to ten.

"They're a hard team. They played hard. They finished all their checks. They're big. They've got speed, so it's a tough team to play down low and battle with. That's what they showed us tonight." - Lightning forward Ryan Callahan

A sloppy back and forth first period for both clubs saw the Lightning open the scoring with just :24 remaining when Brett Connolly scored on assists from Brenden Morrow and Jason Garrison.

That was it in terms of scoring for either side until the third period, with Columbus coming very close on occasion, including generating solid short-handed scoring chances on each of Tampa Bay's first three power plays.

The power play, which has been a concern for some time, looked particularly ineffective tonight with the Lightning going 0-for-4 with the man advantage and generating very few legitimate scoring opportunities in the process.

Yet another stellar effort from goalie Ben Bishop kept the Blue Jackets off the board and it began to look like Connolly's goal would have to be enough as Columbus pressed during the third period.

But at 10:02, the red-hot Cedric Paquette scored his 10th goal of the season, getting helpers from Jonathan Drouin and Alex Killorn and giving the Bolts some much needed breathing room.

Just under two minutes later at 11:43, a lapse by Columbus in their own zone found Valtteri Filppula with the puck all alone just inside the blue line. He fired the puck home for the unassisted marker to spread the lead to 3-0.

Columbus pulled goaltender Curtis McElhinney with about four minutes remaining and with the benefit of the extra skater, the Blue Jackets finally spoiled Bishop's shutout bid at 16:34, on a goal by Ryan Johansen on assists from David Savard and Ryan Murray.

Of course, the Columbus net remained empty as they attempted to find a way to get two more, aided by a Hooking call incurred by Anton Stralman that gave the Blue Jackets two minutes of a 6-on-4 attack. but Bishop held firm. He ended up making 34 saves on the night.

"It was another good game. Every win's been a little bit different, tonight was a little bit different. It took the guys a little bit longer to get going, but when they did, they got a couple in the net." - Bishop

"It's hard to get through the neutral zone; they forecheck you hard, they hit, they got big 'D' when you're down there. They kind of smother you in the offensive zone. They're a tough team to play against. As we talked to our guys today, we thought it was pivotal that we had to get the lead and we did that." - Lightning head coach Jon Cooper

The Lightning end the homestand and the month of January on top of the Atlantic Division with a record of 32-15-4 and will be in action again on Tuesday night when they visit the St. Louis Blues.

Game notes:

• As mentioned above, the franchise-record streak for consecutive home wins now stands at ten.
• This was the third and final regular season meeting between the Blue Jackets and Lightning, with Tampa Bay taking the series 2-1.
• The Lightning now hold an all-time record of 8-2-0 at home vs Columbus.
• The Lightning are 15-1-2 so far this season when leading after one period and 22-0-1 when leading after two.
• The Lightning actually entered tonight's game in third place, due to wins by Montreal and Detroit played earlier in the day.
• Paquette has a four-game points-scored streak, with five goals and an assist.
• Killorn has posted two goals and four assists in his last five games.
• The Lightning's two game streak of scoring a shorthanded goal ended.
• Paquette and Filppula became the eighth and ninth members respectively of the Lightning's double-digit goal club this season.
• The Lightning honored Norma and Joseph Robinson as the 26th Lightning Community Heroes of the season during the first period of tonight's game. The Robinsons, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to Sulphur Springs Museum, Sulphur Springs Alliance, PCAT and YMCA Sulphur Springs After School Program. Sulphur Springs has been characterized as one of the most poverty stricken areas in Tampa Bay. However, this did not deter the Robinson's from settling in the area after moving from New York in 1997 post-retirement. They have both viewed their residence in Sulphur Springs as an opportunity to be stewards in creating a better environment for those living in their community.For the past eighteen years, the Robinson's have been diligent in developing community initiatives and assuming volunteer leadership positions to revive Sulphur Springs. They started the Weed & Seed program in Sulphur Springs, a federal program aimed at revitalizing poverty stricken communities and controlling crime, drug abuse and gang activities in these targeted areas. The Robinson's also created the Sulphur Springs Neighborhood Alliance comprised of residents, churches, and other organizations. To recognize Sulphur Springs' unique past as a vacation destination and its African American roots, the Robinson's developed the Sulphur Springs Museum & Heritage Center. Their vision is to use this museum as an entrepreneurial learning experience for the younger generation to operate the Museum's gift shop, as well as social media and marketing, while under the guidance of mentors. The Robinson's have made such a noticeable impact on the Sulphur Springs community that a public library was named in their honor, the Norma & Joseph Robinson Partnership Library.