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Nikita Nikitin News
#CBJ D Nikita Nikitin (knee) and Brett Lebda (thumb) among 15 or so players practicing this a.m.

Getting on the ice for practice is a good sign for the injured blue liner. Sidelined since January 21st with a knee injury, Nikitin registered two goals and 18 points in his first 31 games on the Blue Jackets.

Nikita Nikitin
GM Scott Howson told The Dispatch today that Nikitin will not play in the final two games before the NHL's All-Star Game break, and will be evaluated again after the break. But it does not appear to be a significant injury.

Nikitin has been part of the solution in Columbus but will be out at least a week. He has two goals and 18 points over his first 31 games in Ohio.

Nikita Nikitin
Nikitin saw 20 minutes, 5 seconds of ice time in the Blues' 4-2 loss to Nashville, and although he finished a plus-1 the defenseman led the Blues with four blocked shots. He showed the coaches something because two nights later, he was assigned to defend Iginla and Co.

Nikitin is currently paired with defensive stalwart Roman Polak creating a reliable shutdown pairing. This addition to the lineup should help Jaroslav Halak out but won't turn the dial in most fantasy hockey leagues.

Nikita Nikitin