FOX SPORTS OHIO TO TELEVISE FIRST ROUND STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS SERIES BETWEEN BLUE JACKETS AND RED WINGS

COLUMBUS, OHIO – The Columbus Blue Jackets are making their Stanley Cup Playoffs debut in 2009 and FOX Sports Ohio will provide live coverage of the best-of-seven Western Conference Quarterfinals series between the Blue Jackets and the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, the club and network announced today. The seventh-seeded Blue Jackets will take on the second-seeded Red Wings in a series featuring two Central Division rivals. A schedule of HD telecasts, as well as channel information for coverage throughout the FOX Sports Ohio region and on Direct TV and Dish Network will be released soon.

Coverage on FOX Sports Ohio begins Thursday at 7 p.m. when the Jackets visit Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena for Game One. Game Two is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m., while the Jackets will host the Red Wings in the first Stanley Cup Playoffs game ever held in the state of Ohio on Tuesday, April 21, at 7 p.m. from Nationwide Arena. Game Four will be played on Thursday, April 23, at 7 p.m. The complete series schedule is as follows:


WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS SERIES
Game 1 Thursday April 16 at Detroit 7 p.m.
Game 2 Saturday April 18 at Detroit 6 p.m.
Game 3 Tuesday April 21 at Columbus 7 p.m.
Game 4 Thursday April 23 at Columbus 7 p.m.
*Game 5 Saturday April 25 at Detroit 7 p.m.
*Game 6 Monday April 27 at Columbus TBA
*Game 7 Wednesday April 29 at Detroit TBA
*if necessary