from Aaron Portzline of Puck-Rakers,
Nationwide Arena is mostly empty this morning, save for a few workers milling about. Blue Jackets coaches arrived early to do what they do -- review film, get updates on injured players, strategize for Saturday's Game 5 -- but players were given a day off to rest weary legs and bruised bones.
Still, there was an afterglow in Nationwide, a lingering electricity from the Blue Jackets' rousing 4-3 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.
"I slept very well last night," Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. He may have gone to bed late, though, like many others in Columbus.
One got the sense last night that our city was transformed in some way. Yes, it's had major league sports here for more than a decade, but the Blue Jackets -- to many -- joined the big leagues last night, and they dragged central Ohio along with them.
Last night's game had all the elements in place to be a lifelong memory. You could say it had Babe Ruth calling his shot and Bill Buckner flubbing an easy grounder, all rolled up into one hockey game.
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