Getting Ready to Count Down!

Columbus Blue Jackets fans won’t have to wait until Opening Night to enjoy Blue Jackets hockey. As the team gears up for what will be an exciting 2011-12 season, FOX Sports Ohio is helping fans get ready too by featuring special Blue Jackets programming throughout the month of September in a “Countdown to Face Off.”

In the “Countdown to Face Off,” FOX Sports Ohio will feature replays of some of the best Blue Jackets games, as voted on by fans, as well as a Summer Tour road show, the Blue Jackets Slap Shots Summer Special, and a Morning Sports Report Special. A complete listing of the “Countdown to Face Off” schedule is found HERE.

For the Showcase Games, fans get to choose which games they will see! We've gathered a list of nine of the best games in Blue Jackets history. Among the nine are the highest-scoring game in club history, the Jackets’ most lopsided win, the game that clinched their first playoff appearance, and a last-minute win secured when Rick Nash scored “the Goal”. The top four games, as voted on by fans via FOXSportsOhio.com, will make the air, with the first game on Monday, Sept. 5 at 6pm. For a complete list of the nine potential Showcase Games and to vote for your favorites, visit http://www.fox%20sportsohio.com/pages/countdown_to_face_off/.

FOX Sports Ohio further prepares for the start of the Jackets’ season with Blue Jackets Slap Shots Summer Special, the replay of the half-hour special takes a look at the team’s off-season player moves, from trades to the draft and free agency.

How do the Columbus Blue Jackets spend the off-season? Dave Maetzold and the FOX Sports Ohio crew take to the highways and byways of Canada to find out on Blue Jackets Slap Shots – Summer Tour. This four part series, premiering Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 6:30pm, is an all-access pass to the Jackets that every fan must see!

We round out the “Countdown to Face Off” with Blue Jackets Slap Shots - Morning Sports Report Special, debuting Thursday, Sept. 8 at 6:30pm. In this 30-minute program, FOX Sports Ohio/Blue Jacket play-by-play commentator, Jeff Rimer, sits down with Nash, 2010 Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee Dino Ciccarelli, and Stanley Cup champion and national NHL analyst Ed Olczyk.