from Aaron Portzline of Puck-Rakers at the Columbus Dispatch,

So how did the Blue Jackets show up for practice today? Angry? Engaged? Rambunctious?

"I didn't like the way we started practice," Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. "We started slow and sloppy."

Richards seemed to take it upon himself to provide motivation. His voice got louder. He started barking at specific players during drills when the pace wasn't high enough. His language was dotted with a word that can not be printed in this space.

All of this played out while Richards put the players through physical drills around the net: 1 on 1s in the corner, followed by 2 on 2s. It wasn't a "bag" skate like last week's, but a practice you might typically see early in the training camp.

"We haven't done battle drills in a long time," Richards said.

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