More line changes and the NHL Network coming to Time Warner?

Aaron Portzline has an update in his blog regarding new line changes for Wed's game:

Nash- Modin-Vyborny

Novotny-Fedorov-Zherdev

Chimera-Malhotra-Boll

Fritsche-Peca-Brule

The good news is that Peca is back practicing today and might finally make his debut as a Blue Jacket on Wednesday.

As far as these line combos, I'm not a big fan of playing wings at center but I know Hitch is casting a large net trying to find a center that works between Nash and Vyborny. I think eventually Howson and co. are going to have to look at the trade market for the answer and maybe throw some kind of package deal together. There will be some teams off to slow starts looking for a shakeup so keep an eye on those as they could make nice dance partners.

Remember Hitch likes to keep pairs of players together. We have Nash/Vybes and Feds/Z as the only two pairs thus far kept together in large part due to only playing 11 forwards through the first two games. Lets see what shakes out with Peca back.

With Peca back it would appear that the Jackets will start with 4 complete lines and 6 defensemen as opposed to the 11 forwards and 7 defensemen they were rolling. So the next big question is who gets scratched on the backline?

I think Foote, Kesla, Tollefsen and Hainsey are safe for now....so it comes down to Westcott, Hejda or Russell....my money is on Hejda. Of course this all assuming Peca is good to go on Wed.

Glencross and Shelley remain the extra forwards and I think Jacket fans better start getting used to the idea of no Shelley in the lineup for a good part of this season.

Also here is some new news regarding the NHL Network that I just read in this article:

NHL Network, the first national network dedicated entirely to hockey, is being launched in the United States, beginning this month, through carriage agreements with Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, DIRECTV, DISH Network and Time Warner Cable. Based on the carriage arrangements, NHL Network will be accessible to 75 million homes.

“Our fans across the U.S. and Canada now can have access to the hockey programming they want, regardless the time of day,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. “We have joined with six of the most-respected cable and satellite distributors in the industry, and that is testimony to the appetite and demand for the NHL.”

This link also says the following:

Operators will also have access to a full-time high-definition TV channel, although it's unclear how many distributors will offer that 24-hour simulcast.

I am going to have to call Time Warner and see what's going on in terms of this network being offered in Central Ohio b/c if it is, X-mas has come a little early for this fan especially if there is an HD channel offered!

I'll keep you posted with what they say.

Edit: I called Time Warner and pointed them to this news release. The guy I spoke with hadn't heard anything about it yet (which considering this was just announced today I'm not surprised) but said its likely they will be carrying it according to that press release. He took my name and number and will call me back once he figures it out. He did say it would be an extra $3.49 a month as part of a sport tier and is only available with digital cable subscribers.

Again I'll update this post when I hear more details.

-LTL