from Aaron Portzline of Puck-Rakers,

The Blue Jackets will be backed by a sold out crowd in Nationwide Arena tonight -- the diehards who have endured all along, those who drifted away and have fallen back in love, and the newbies who are getting their first look at the greatest spectacle in sports ... the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said he was concerned about his players getting too caught up in the emotions of the moment and suffering an energy crash as the game moves along. But mostly he's excited, too:

"The city has earned this, the fans have earned this," Richards said. "There will be great energy in here. We've seen it before (against Nashville in the last game of last season), but it's going to be elevated here tonight."

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