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Winning Thoughts: The Pittsburgh streak is over | Columbus Blue Jackets

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Winning Thoughts: The Pittsburgh streak is over | Columbus Blue Jackets


After CBJ wins, we’ll give three takeaways about what stood out or what we’ll remember from the Blue Jackets victory.

1. The Blue Jackets finally got a win in Pittsburgh.

It was nearly a decade ago on Nov. 13, 2015, when the Blue Jackets last won before tonight in the Steel City. You can almost hear a radio announcer painting a picture of what life was like then as he begins a flashback montage…

“Hello” by Adele was the No. 1 song on the charts. Gas cost $2.23 a gallon, and Peyton Manning was on his way to winning his second Super Bowl…

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It had been that long since the Blue Jackets left Pittsburgh as a happy bunch, a 15-game losing streak against the division rival that seemed to defy all logic.

There is no magic formula to beat that kind of hex, but the Blue Jackets finally found the right balance between acknowledging it and not really caring.

After all, this is a gameday roster that had 10 new players – plus a new head coach in Dean Evason – since last year’s March 28 loss in Pittsburgh, so it’s not like most in the dressing room were preoccupied with the past or had even lived that much of it.

Add in a relatively young bunch of players – it’s not like Dmitri Voronkov or Adam Fantilli have had too many difficult drives through the Fort Pitt Tunnel in their careers – and it wasn’t really something that hung over this squad that much going in.

“I don’t care,” Kirill Marchenko said afterward. “We just wanted to win, that’s it.”

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“I think there were a couple of jokes about it when we flew into Pittsburgh, but I think guys were pretty confident, thinking, ‘This is the year we can do it,’” Kent Johnson said. “Obviously we’ve been a better team (this year), so it definitely felt good to do it.”

Evason was more on the side of not giving two flips, as whatever happened before he got to Columbus has been largely immaterial to him this season. He said assistant coach Jared Boll may have mentioned the streak in the coaches’ room before the game, but Evason’s laser focus was on having the team ready to play, and the Blue Jackets succeeded in that regard.

“Listen, this is a different team than in the past 10 years or whatever it’s been, (or) last year,” Evason said. “We’re a different hockey club. We’re playing the way that the Columbus Blue Jackets play today in order to win. So what’s happened in the past, it means nothing. It really does. This group, if we play hard like that every night, we’ll give ourselves a chance to win regardless of if we haven’t won somewhere.”

2. Adam Fantilli stepped up in a big way after the loss of Sean Monahan.

The first-year Blue Jackets center has been one of the biggest pieces of the team’s resurgence this year, providing excellent play on the top line and bringing leadership to the locker room.

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So when Monahan left the game in the third period – he suffered an upper-body injury in the second but tried to go in the final frame, leaving after one shift – it could have been a major blow to the Blue Jackets.

Enter Fantilli, who moved up between Marchenko and Voronkov and brought energy – as well as contributed to two goals – to help the Blue Jackets erase a 3-1 deficit in the final eight minutes. First, his centering pass deflected off of Marchenko and went right to Voronkov at the right post, and the big Russian made no mistake in putting it past Tristan Jarry to make it a one-goal game with 7:55 left.

Fantilli then scored the tying goal with 2:36 remaining and the Blue Jackets on the power play. Taking Monahan’s spot in the bumper position on the man advantage, Fantilli one-touched a sweet pass from Johnson past Jarry from the slot to even the game.



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Pittsburgh Regional Transit starting to install new ReadyFare machines

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Pittsburgh Regional Transit starting to install new ReadyFare machines


Pittsburgh Regional Transit has started to install its ReadyFare vending machines as the agency prepares to roll out its new fare payment system. 

PRT said it’s working to roll out its new ReadyFare system and has started to install the new machine at some of its light-rail stations.

The new machines recently were installed at PRT’s Gateway station in Downtown Pittsburgh. 

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Pittsburgh Regional Transit has begun installing new ReadyFare machines at stations throughout the agency’s system.

Pittsburgh Regional Transit


PRT said that as it prepares to roll out the new system, current ConnectCard holders will receive a card in the mail with instructions on how to request a ReadyFare card.

The new ReadyFare cards will be able to be purchased at the new machines for $1. 

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PRT said that riders will be able to transfer any balances they have on a ConnectCard to the new ReadyFare cards using an online balance transfer form. 



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About 5 pounds of bees removed from Acrisure Stadium scaffolding ahead of Morgan Wallen concerts

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About 5 pounds of bees removed from Acrisure Stadium scaffolding ahead of Morgan Wallen concerts


Acrisure Stadium is buzzing with excitement ahead of the back-to-back Morgan Wallen concerts. Except it’s not the fans generating all the excitement — it’s about 5 pounds of honeybees. 

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The Fine Family Apiary in Monongahela said it was contacted on Wednesday about a swarm of bees clustered on the stage scaffolding. The apiary put the swarm in a “nuc box” and took them home before moving the bees into full-size equipment.

Owner Al Fine estimates the swarm weighed about 4 to 5 pounds and consisted of 12,000 to 15,000 bees. All said, it took less than two hours to get the job done. 

The Fine Family Apiary in Monongahela removed about 12,000 to 15,000 bees from Acrisure Stadium. 

(Photo: The Fine Family Apiary/Facebook)

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Why do bees swarm? 

Swarming is how honeybees propagate, Fine explained. According to Penn State Extension, during swarming, the queen and about half the workers leave their home to establish a new nest. The bees will form a temporary cluster, hanging out while scouts search the surrounding area for a more permanent home in hollow spaces like tree cavities or, occasionally, the walls of a home

Swarms can stick around for several hours or days until they’re ready to move, Penn State Extension says. Meanwhile, the colony left behind is temporarily without a leader until a new queen is established. 

With the swarm at Acrisure Stadium removed, Morgan Wallen’s show is ready to go on. The country music megastar will bring his I’m The Problem Tour to Pittsburgh on June 5 and June 6, along with multiple acts like Brooks & Dunn and Ella Langley. 



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Blanche says DOJ

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Blanche says DOJ


Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Tuesday that the Justice Department is not moving forward with its $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that has become a major obstacle to the GOP agenda in Congress.

“We are not moving forward with the fund. Period,” he told lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee.



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