From The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline’s Stadium Series notebook:
• Werenski and Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin grew up playing hockey together in Michigan. Werenski has said they first met when he was 8 years old. But that friendship hits pause whenever they play. During the Blue Jackets’ family skate on Friday, Larkin and other Red Wings were warming up with a soccer ball near the rink. Here’s Werenski: “My fiancee (Odette Peters) was like, ‘Should we go say hi to him?’ I was like, ‘No, no, no. We’re not doing that. We hate these guys until the game is over.’ We’re going to battle, we’re going to play hard, and after the game I’ll give him a hug and we’ll talk about it.”
• The Blue Jackets and Red Wings both enter today’s game with 66 points. The Red Wings own the first wild-card playoff spot, and the Blue Jackets the second, because the Wings have more regulation wins. It marks the third time in the NHL’s 43 outdoor games that the two opponents are tied in points. In 2014, Toronto and Detroit were tied (45 points) when they played in a Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium. Two months later, Pittsburgh and Chicago were tied (84 points) when they played a Stadium Series game in Soldier Field.
Continued (paywall)
