During postseason training camp leading up to the Blue Jackets' return to the ice vs. Toronto, BlueJackets.com will sum up the news of the day each day with this Summer Camp Journal.
What happened today
This is the end, beautiful friend.
After two weeks of skating at the OhioHealth Ice Haus attached to Nationwide Arena, the Blue Jackets held their final full-team on-ice practice ahead of Sunday's trip to Toronto for the NHL restart.
And it was a doozy of a day. With another solid contingent of Blue Jackets fans standing outside the rink to take in the final practice, Columbus spent 30 minutes working on special teams before a full-team scrimmage of three periods with a 25-minute running clock in each frame.
And if you thought Tuesday night's 7-3 scrimmage entailed a wild game, then hold on to your hats, as today's scrimmage finished 11-5 in favor of Team Blue. Alexandre Texier had a hat trick to lead Team Blue, while Nick Foligno and Kole Sherwood each added two goals. Alex Wennberg, Emil Bemstrom, David Savard and Oliver Bjorkstrand also tallied against goalie Elvis Merzlikins, whose frustration was visible throughout.
For Team White, Joonas Korpisalo had a solid bounce-back showing in net after being the losing goalie Tuesday. Eric Robinson added two more goals and Boone Jenner tallied, and the two tied for the team lead in the five summer camp scrimmages with five goals apiece. Zach Werenski and Cam Atkinson also scored.
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) July 24, 2020
Afterward, head coach John Tortorella said he wasn't too worried about the high scores as the scrimmages didn't quite replicate the intensity of a normal NHL game.
"You gotta be really careful not to overthink some of the things," he said. "I think the guys are ready to go, ready to get to Toronto and at least get there and have an exhibition game against people that you're not with all the time. I believe it'll ramp up as we get to the hub city and start getting closer and closer to our first game."
Still, Tortorella couldn't help but laugh when asked if the Blue Jackets would have more scrimmages upon arrival in Toronto or stick with practice drills in preparation for Thursday's exhibition game vs. Boston and Sunday's first game vs. Toronto.
"If the scrimmage is going to be like today, I'm not so sure," he said.
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) July 24, 2020
Personnel notes
The Blue Jackets skated without Ryan Murray, as the veteran defenseman was listed as unable to practice. Murray also missed a practice last week but returned to action the next day.
On the positive side, Foligno skated for the second day in a row after missing Monday and Tuesday's scrimmages.
Here's how the two teams lined up for Friday's scrimmage.
There was some debate as to whether Team White should have had a sixth goal on the day. Midway through the second period, Nutivaara unleased a hard shot from the slot that got by Korpisalo and either hit the back bar inside the net or the crossbar then came pinging back into play.
Media in the elevated Ice Haus stands thought it was a goal, but the call on the ice was no goal, and play continued. Naturally, the two Finns had some fun at each other's experience after the scrimmage.
Korpisalo: "It hit the crossbar, but that was close. He didn't score."
Nutivaara: "I mean, it was Korpi in net, so it was a goal. It has to be."
Korpisalo, after being told Nutivaara said he had scored: "He said he did? No way. He didn't score on me. That was close. He hit the crossbar but it didn't go in."
What's next
The Blue Jackets will have an off-ice workout Saturday, then fly to Toronto the check into the NHL hub on Sunday. The team will return to practice Monday, play Boston in an exhibition game Thursday and then begin the best-of-five series vs. Toronto on Aug. 2.
"We have three days plus an exhibition game," Tortorella said. "You have to remember, we have that exhibition game. I think the guys are looking forward to just play a game against an opponent. We'll see. We have an off-ice day tomorrow, full day off with travel (Sunday) and then we have three days of practice. We'll see what we can do there prior to playing Boston."
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