PREVIEW: Blue Jackets vs Wild

WILD (14-8-2) at BLUE JACKETS (14-8-2)
Thursday, 7 p.m., Nationwide Arena; Fox Sports Ohio, Fox Sports app, 97.1 FM
"Little brother" is a misnomer when it comes to comparing Marcus Foligno to Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno.
The Wild forward more accurately is the younger brother - by four years - and thus is always under the watchful eye of 31-year-old Nick even as their NHL careers have kept them in separate cities.
They will reunite when the Wild visits Nationwide Arena with the continuing twist in their relationship since Marcus (6-3, 228) was traded to Minnesota on June 30, 2017, after six seasons in the Eastern Conference with the Buffalo Sabres.

"It was harder when we were in the same conference because I want to see my brother do well," Nick said. "I may be different, I had a great relationship with him. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to stick it to my brother anytime I can, but he's my brother. I want to see him have success so it's weird when we're battling in the same conference or division and you're taking points away from each other.
"It's a little easier with him in the West knowing that we only play each other twice so it really doesn't have an effect. I appreciate the fact and I'm really humbled that we both get to play in this league."
Their "rivalry" peaked during the 2011-12 season when Marcus debuted for the Sabres and Nick was playing for the Ottawa Senators with each of their teams in the Northeast Division.
Nick (6-0, 202) was traded to Columbus the following season when the Blue Jackets competed in the Central Division of the Western Conference. The Blue Jackets joined the Eastern Conference for the 2013-14 season in the newly formed Metropolitan Division.
The Sabres positioned themselves for high draft picks the final few seasons for Marcus there so his brother took note that the Blue Jackets and Wild enter the game Thursday with identical records.
"It's weird," Nick said. "That's why it's great to see him doing well. In Buffalo those years when it was really tough for him, it was hard knowing he just didn't have a great team and he's still trying to play his best.
"I'm real happy he's experiencing success. Even though I'm sure individually he'd like to have more points, his role is helping a team that needs the kind of player he is."
Nick has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 23 games. Marcus has four points (one goal, three assists) in 24 games.
They've had some battles over the years as would be expected from the sons of former rugged NHL forward Mike Foligno, who had 727 points (355 goals, 382 assists) and 2,047 penalty minutes in 1,018 games. But don't expect them to drop the gloves.
"Nah. He's way bigger than I am," Nick said. "I don't know how I'd do against him anymore. I used to pound the (\\\\) out of him. I think he's going to get retribution now.
"I really don't want to see 18,000 people see me get beat up by my brother. I've got some spots I know he's weak, so I could probably get a few in."
He was smiling when he said that but serious about a goal of his.
"It would be awesome to play with him one day," Nick said. "As I'm getting older, and hopefully not seeing the finish line soon, but it would be a really neat thing to play with your brother in the NHL. I start to get that thought in my head a little bit more than I should."
Center of attention
Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella spent time at practice Wednesday working on checking in the neutral zone. It's a big emphasis with the game become quicker and quicker as evidenced by Detroit's Anthony Mantha making zone entry with speed for two goals on Monday in the Blue Jackets' 7-5 victory.
"I just want the team to know they know how to check, it's just do you want to check?" Tortorella said. "In the middle of that game we didn't check. We have to have a checking mentality in our game."
Veteran Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky has noticed the game has evolved over the years.
"It's a little more run and gun," he said. "These young guys bring so much more speed and skill, energy. Some of the hitting, some of the, as (Tortorella) would put it, the grind is a little less than it used to be and more of a fast-paced game up and down the ice chasing chances."
Tortorella has changed as well to adapt to skilled players taking more risks at the expense of defensive coverage.
"I can't tell many times on the bench, I sometimes giggle," Dubinsky said. "He'll be yelling at a guy to make a play a play, to get it deep to do something. He'll make a magical play and it'll end up in the back of the net. I kind of turn around and smirk at him and he's laughing."
Of note
Forward Anthony Duclair is "dinged-up" as described by a team spokesman and will be replaced by Oliver Bjorkstrand, a healthy scratch the past four games. … Defenseman Zach Werenski skated with Seth Jones in practice on Wednesday. The top pair played for the first time together in 10 games vs. the Red Wings.
Blue Jackets projected lineup
Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson
Nick Foligno -- Boone Jenner -- Josh Anderson
Brandon Dubinsky -- Alex Wennberg -- Oliver Bjorkstrand
Lukas Sedlak -- Riley Nash -- Markus Hannikainen
Zach Werenski -- Seth Jones
Ryan Murray -- Markus Nutivaara
David Savard -- Scott Harrington
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched: D Dean Kukan,
Injured: F Anthony Duclair (body)