There will be a “Family Feud” element at work when the Blues play the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena this evening. Blues defenseman Kris Russell will be going up against his twin brother Ryan Russell, a left winger for Columbus.
“Its cool, really cool,” Russell said. “You get an opportunity to play against your brother in the NHL, that's a really cool experience.”
The two have not played against each other since their days in junior hockey, when Kris was playing for Medicine Hat and Ryan was skating for Kootenay of the Western Hockey League. On that occasion - in what can only be described as Plager-esque - the brothers wound up fighting each other at center ice.
Kris doesn't anticipate a re-match, but acknowledged Ryan and he won't hesitate to get physical with each other if a situation calls for it.
“If he's there and I'm in a position to make contact, I will,” Russell said. “You know, once you get playing you kind of have one mentality and it kind of takes over.”
As for who his parents might be rooting for back in Alberta, Russell couldn't say. “I don't know, they'll probably root for a shootout, I guess,” he added.
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Naturally, Hitchcock was a popular interview in Columbus after the morning skate. While holding court, the former Blue Jackets coach was asked about rumors that struggling Columbus is shopping some of its players, including captain Rick Nash.
“It's hard for us to comment on other players,” Hitchcock said. “They've got good players. Good players with good teams can have bad years, it's happened everywhere in the NHL. They're not the only team having a poor team with good players. So that's the part you have to be really careful of.
“It's the wrong time to evaluate players on your team, because there's no pressure on anybody. This is the gravy run. So evaluating players this time of year is a mistake, good or bad. If you know you have good players, than that's your evaluation.
“Some people perform really well this time of year, with nothing on the line. And then some people are just devastated with this time of year and they can't even get themselves ready to play.”
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Jaroslav Halak will start in goal for the Blues.
