Gameday Guide: All-female crew to call ESPN+ broadcast

History was made in the NHL on March 8, 2020, when two all-female broadcast crews did games on two different networks to celebrate International Women's Day.
On NBC Sports Network, play-by-play announcer Kate Scott was joined by former U.S. Olympians A.J. Mleczko and Kendall Coyne Schofield on the call of a game between St. Louis in Chicago.
And in Canada, Sportsnet showed a game between Vegas and Calgary that featured Leah Hextall on play-by-play joined by color commentator Cassie Campbell-Pascall and reporter Christine Simpson.

Both games also featured all-woman production crews and studio hosts, but for Mleczko, who is well into her second decade behind a mic, there was a bit of a weird feeling being the center of attention.
"It was a tough day to go through just because there was so much attention, and I had the feeling of like, 'We do this every day,'" she said before
tonight's Blue Jackets game against New Jersey
. "It was celebrated, which is wonderful, but I felt some people saw it as like a gimmick or a novelty, and this is our job. This is what we do."
As time goes by, hearing female voices on NHL broadcasts is becoming more and more familiar, but there is still history to be made. Tonight, during the ESPN+ broadcast of the Blue Jackets'
Hockey Is For Everyone game
, Mleczko will be joined on the mic by Hextall for the first-ever CBJ game that will feature an all-woman crew.
It's something that likely will simply be commonplace down the road, especially with the talented women ESPN has brought in during its first year back with the NHL rights contract, but the reality is it still stands out.
"I think the difference with doing these female broadcasts for ESPN is we are not having to go out and pull people in to do them," Hextall said. "We have enough female staff here full time. That is very different than the ones I've done before when you have to collect a group of women. That's where I give ESPN full credit is we have enough women on staff now we can do multiple of these games, one after another if we needed to."
Hextall also has been in broadcasting since the mid-2000s, but many of her previous roles before ESPN included work on studio shows or as a reporter at games. As she's called more games in a play-by-play role, she's in a brighter spotlight, which includes both positive and negative aspects.
On the plus side, Hextall is a visible face and source of inspiration for those who hope to one day follow in her footsteps; on the other side of it, criticism is part and parcel with the job.
"Here I am on this big platform, and mentally it has been a kick to the gut because everybody has an opinion and there's a lot of criticism," Hextall said. "And that is to be expected. No sad song here, but then you get a note from a dad and he has a picture of his little girl watching the TV and her words when I came on were, 'Look, it's a girl!' That's the inclusion, that's being in a nontraditional role.
"I didn't grow up seeing women be color analysts or do play-by-play. It took me until I was in my 40s, and it just happens to be me. Now we have this whole generation of not just little girls but probably more importantly little boys who are going to be growing up thinking two women doing a hockey game is no big deal."
One day, it won't be something new, especially as more and more female broadcasters enter the NHL ranks both at the national and regional levels.
"I want to make sure that we don't walk through the door and kick it closed behind us," Mleczko said. "One thing that frustrates me, and it seems to be an instinct from people, but at the NBC Olympics I worked with a former teammate of mine, Angela Ruggiero. She was great and it was so fun, but some people said, 'Watch out, she's going to take your job.'
"I was like, 'Why? Isn't there room for all of us?' I want to root her and everybody else on and hope that there is room at the table so more women can get involved, whether it is in play-by-play, whether it is as an analyst, whether it is as a reporter, whether it is in the trucks, whatever it is. Hockey Is For Everyone, and if you want to do it and you put the work in, there is an option for you."

3 Keys to the Game

Jump on the Devils: New Jersey played a home game last night and is in the second half of a back-to-back, so Columbus should have the early energy.
Find the scoring touch: After the hottest stretch of goal-scoring in team history, Columbus has two tallies in the last two games. New Jersey has given up the second-most 5-on-5 goals in the NHL this year, so it could be a time to get back on the right track.
Stop the streak: Columbus understandably was low on energy in Carolina, then played Pittsburgh even for much of Sunday's game but didn't get the result. This is a good chance to right the ship tonight.

Notable

Despite a two-game losing skid, Columbus has won nine of 13 overall. … Columbus native Jack Roslovic had a goal and an assist Sunday night vs. Pittsburgh in his 100th game with the Blue Jackets. … Patrik Laine has gone without a point in two straight games, but he still has a 13-8-21 line in the last 13 contests, plus eight multipoint games and five multigoal games in that span. … Berube has a .924 save percentage and won his first three starts for Columbus, becoming the second goalie in team history to do so (Steve Mason). … Oliver Bjorkstrand notched his 100th career Sunday, becoming the seventh player to notch 100 goals in CBJ history. … CBJ captain Boone Jenner has 22 goals on the season and seven points (3-4-7) in his last six games. Jenner also boasts a 10-11-21 line in the last 21 games, and his 143 goals in a CBJ sweater is now third overall in team history. ... Gustav Nyquist has four shorthanded goals on the season, tied for first in the NHL with Florida's Aleksandar Barkov and Anaheim's Isac Lundestrom. … Max Domi is one goal from 100 and one point from 300 in his NHL career. ... Jakub Voracek's 28 primary assists are tied for third in the NHL. … The Blue Jackets have trailed in 17 of their 27 wins this year, tied for the most in the NHL, and have seven wins when trailing after two periods, the most in the NHL and the second most in franchise history. ... Coumbus is an NHL-best 9-1 this year in extra time (6-0 in OT, 3-1 in shootouts). … Columbus is 2-1-0 in the season series, earning a shootout win on Halloween in New Jersey, then splitting a home-and-home set in early January with a 4-3 win in Nationwide Arena. … Voracek has four assists in the three games this year against New Jersey while Bjorkstrand has three goals in the season series. The Maestro also has 11 goals in 18 games all-time against the Devils.

Projected Lineup

(Subject to change)
Gustav Nyquist - Boone Jenner - Patrik Laine
Jakub Voracek - Jack Roslovic - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Max Domi - Sean Kuraly - Justin Danforth
Emil Bemstrom - Cole Sillinger - Brendan Gaunce
Vladislav Gavrikov - Andrew Peeke
Gabriel Carlsson - Dean Kukan
Gavin Bayreuther - Jake Christiansen
Elvis Merzlikins (confirmed starter)
Jean Francois-Berube
Scratches: Yegor Chinakhov, Zach Werenski (upper body, day to day), Adam Boqvist (upper body, day to day)
Injured Reserve:Joonas Korpisalo (lower body, day to day); Daniil Tarasov (hip surgery; out for season); Alexandre Texier (fractured finger; out four weeks as of Jan. 27); Jake Bean (groin strain; out four weeks as of Jan. 30); Eric Robinson (knee; out six weeks as of Jan. 31)
Roster Report:Werenski, Bean, Robinson and Korpisalo all took part in the team's morning skate, but none will play tonight. Neither will Boqvist, who was injured Sunday vs Pittsburgh and did not skate this morning; he will be replaced in the lineup by Christiansen.

This Day in CBJ History

March 1, 2001: Espen Knutsen notches two assists to run his CBJ-record point streak to seven games while Steve Heinze and Geoff Sanderson each score twice as the Blue Jackets earn a 5-2 victory over Nashville during the inaugural season.
March 1, 2017: At the NHL trade deadline, Columbus acquires defenseman Kyle Quincey from New Jersey in exchange for Dalton Prout and adds winger Lauri Korpikoski from Dallas in exchange for Dillon Heatherington.
March 1, 2012: Steve Mason makes 33 saves and the Blue Jackets notch a 2-0 shutout victory at Colorado.
March 1, 2020: Zach Werenski scores his 20th goal of the season and Emil Bemstrom nets the game winner as the Blue Jackets battle back from a 3-1 deficit in the last 10 minutes to score a 5-3 victory over Vancouver in Nationwide Arena.