Gameday Preview: Caps vs Blue Jackets

Who: Washington Capitals vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Where: Nationwide Arena
When: Tuesday, February 5, 7:00 pm

Broadcast Info: CSN, 3WT Radio; FSN Ohio, The Fan 1490 AM

The Caps haven't lost back to back games in regulation since November, and now would not be a good time to start. After getting shut out in two of their last three games it's going to take some hard work and some secondary scoring to get a few past shutout king Pascal Leclaire and avoid dropping that elusive second striaght game.

The biggest news going into tonight's game, though, is the return of Eric Fehr, the Caps highly-touted prospect who had just started to be finding his NHL game last year as the season ended before suffering an injury that sat him for months. After a stint with the Hershey Bears, though, Fehr is healthy and back in action alongside Ovechkin and Backstrom - quite the assignment for the youngster who has only played in a handful of NHL games to begin with.

For more on Fehr, check out Vogel's great piece on the kid. Should be fun to see him out there with the other tots for sure.

2 Minutes with...Columbus, Ohio

Boston has beans, the Red Sox, and the Tea Party; New York is the city that never sleeps. So what is Columbus known for? As the Caps make their first visit in four years to Nationwide Arena tonight, it seemed as good a time as any to get to know the Arch City, The Discovery City, C-Bus...Columbus, Ohio.

- Columbus was founded in 1812, became the state capital of Ohio in 1816, and was deemed a city (after achieving a population of 3500) in 1834.

- Columbus is home to the Ohio State Buckeyes; a buckeye is a type of tree or a chocolate and peanut butter candy designed to look like the nut of the tree; another popular chocolate and peanut butter candy is the Reese's peanut butter cup, produced by the Hershey chocolate company; the Hershey Bears are the AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals; Dave Steckel, a Hershey Bears alum, was an Ohio State Buckeye.

- The (in)famous fast food chain White Castle is headquartered in Columbus.

- Columbus is the site of the annual Ohio State Fair, which contributes over $280 million to the state's economy annually. The fair has been taking place for over 150 years and is used as a celebration of Ohio-made products, it's people and their accomplishments. One of those accomplishments? A life-size cow and calf made completely out of butter.

- Performers at the Ohio State Fair have included Ike and Tina Turner, Johnny Cash, Bob Hope, Alan Jackson, Bow Wow, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Air Supply, Rascal Flatts, and Lifehouse.

- Renowned animal expert Jack Hanna, known for his television shows and frequent appearances on late night TV, is based out of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

- The only pro teams located in Columbus are the Blue Jackets, MLS's Columbus Crew, and AFL team the Columbus Destroyers. Columbus is also home to the Columbus Clippers, the triple-A affiliate of our own Washington Nationals.

- Columbus's first sister city was Genoa, Italy, a relationship established in 1955 and commemorated with a statue of Columbus, presented to the city from the people of Genoa. Columbus has since added six more, including Seville, Spain and Herzliya, Israel.

- Columbus is the birthplace of author/cartoonist James Thurber, historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, and golf legend Jack Nicklaus.