NHL
COLUMBUS, Ohio — One of the first major details the NHL tries to secure when an outdoor game takes shape is the musical acts. Since NHL executive Steve Mayer has been fascinated by staging a game in Ohio Stadium for years, he knew exactly who he wanted.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are hosting the Detroit Red Wings in a Stadium Series game on Saturday, and the event will be started and highlighted by two major recording acts with strong ties to both Columbus and Ohio State University: O.A.R. and Twenty One Pilots.
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“Nine out of 10 times, we fail to get the bands we want, because it’s tough, with touring and scheduling,” said Mayer, the league’s president of content and events. “In this case, we wanted two bands, and we got ’em both. That’s unheard of, and that’s really cool.
“They are as excited as any musical acts we’ve ever had perform. They freakin’ love the Blue Jackets. They’re also huge hockey fans in general, so this is great.”
Members of both bands are frequently spotted in Nationwide Arena for Blue Jackets games.
O.A.R., whose five members all attended Ohio State in the late 1990s, is playing at the preagame pep rally at Ohio State’s St. John Arena, just a few hundred steps from Ohio Stadium. The Blue Jackets players will arrive at the pep rally to hear a work-up between O.A.R. and the Ohio State Athletic Band, then walk to Ohio Stadium, just as the Ohio State football team does on home-game Saturdays.
the Columbus Blue Jackets invited us to join them as the NHL Stadium Series visits our hometown @BlueJacketsNHL pic.twitter.com/pcJrXubUzo
— twenty one pilots (@twentyonepilots) February 28, 2025
Twenty One Pilots is comprised of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, who are both from Columbus. Joseph attended Ohio State.
They flew home in the middle of a world tour — they were in Mexico just a couple of days ago — to play a first-intermission set. Judging by their soundcheck on Saturday after the Blue Jackets and Red Wings practiced in Ohio Stadium, it’s going to be a raucous set, with both fire and fireworks.
The Athletic had a quick email exchange with Dun on Friday. Here was the conversation:
You guys have played all over the world in some pretty amazing places. What is this gig going to be like?
Given the unique nature of this performance, it will be a lot of fun for a few reasons. We’re in the middle of a world tour, which has been incredible, but there’s nothing like being back in our hometown. Also, it’s always fun to be part of a sports event because Tyler and I are competitive people at our core. We’re so excited to be playing in Columbus, especially at such an iconic venue.
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As long as you’ve lived in Columbus, did you ever dream of playing Ohio Stadium?
I remember being a teenager and feeling like playing the Newport Music Hall on (Ohio State’s) campus would be the pinnacle. I don’t know if I really knew how to dream beyond that. As time has gone on and we’ve played a lot of shows, the idea of the Ohio Stadium has been intriguing. It feels weird to think back to the time that the Newport was the biggest we could dream, and now feeling like someday playing our own show at the Ohio Stadium could be a reality.
How did this come together with the NHL?
It was a bit like a formality. Before this conversation started, we already had a relationship with the Blue Jackets and the university. The NHL (executive) team came to the show when we played in New York City last year. Everyone walked us through the vision of the night … when you hear that you realize that it’s one of those moments that was almost too obvious. We love Columbus, and it really is an honor to be a part of a night that will go down in Columbus, Ohio, history.
How long is your set? And how difficult is it to put together given the time constraints of intermission?
We’ll be playing in between periods at the hockey game, so I think total play time will be somewhere around eight minutes — which is actually not the shortest set we’ve ever done. Our first show we played together, the cops came and shut down the music due to curfew after one song. So at least we’ll be playing longer than that. We’re gonna try and get as much music into that time as we can — it’s gonna be fun.
He was the Blue Jackets’ first star player. He was, during many seasons, the Blue Jackets’ singular standout, scoring goals in bunches even as the franchise struggled. His sweater number (61) is the only number retired by the Blue Jackets.
This week, as the NHL has worked to give the Blue Jackets their biggest stage yet — 90,000 are expected at tonight’s game, and the game will be broadcasted all over the world — we’ve wanted to know: What’s Rick Nash, now the Blue Jackets’ director of hockey operations, thinking?
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“I’ve always hoped this day would come for us, especially after playing in (three outdoor games) with (the New York Rangers) and knowing how perfect a setup Ohio Stadium would be, just how close the fans are to the football field there.
“Walking around the stadium (on Friday) … it was a proud moment, seeing the whole hockey world in Columbus for an event that’s hosted by the Blue Jackets.”
Nash, while playing for the Rangers, played two Stadium Series games in February 2014, facing the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders, both in Yankee Stadium. Four years later, the Rangers played the Buffalo Sabres in a Winter Classic game in Citi Field, home to the New York Mets.
The Rangers are Original 6 members, one of the NHL’s iconic clubs. They need no elevating. Nash was asked what this game, this stage, can mean to the Blue Jackets. The game will air on ESPN and be broadcast to roughly 200 countries worldwide.
“I feel like in the United States right now, with all of the buzz coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off … there’s a lot of interest in hockey and the NHL right now,” Nash said. “And to have all eyes on Columbus right now, in this moment, is huge, especially with the way the two teams are playing,:
“I think I speak for a lot of people in the organization and the city in saying that I’m really proud of this group of players and how they’ve come together this season through a lot of adversity. And I’m really happy for them that they get to experience this with our city. It’s so great.”
An experience of a lifetime ❤️#StadiumSeries | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/keTrrLj6Em
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 1, 2025
Blue Jackets center Cole Sillinger was injured in the first period of Thursday’s 5-2 win in Detroit, and coach Dean Evason confirmed after Friday’s practice that he will not be able to play in Saturday’s game.
“I’ll say this, it wasn’t as bad as we were thinking it was,” Evason said. “But he’s definitely not in our lineup tomorrow night.”
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That’s a tough blow for the Blue Jackets, as Sillinger was centering the No. 2 line. But it’s also a tough blow for Sillinger, who has emerged — even as a 21-year-old — as one of the Blue Jackets’ young leaders.
The Blue Jackets will also be without center Sean Monahan, winger Yegor Chinakhov and defenseman Erik Gudbranson.
“(Sillinger’s) is probably the toughest one,” Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said. “The other guys probably had an idea they weren’t going to play in this one a couple of months ago, which is still tough to swallow. But for Silly to come so close, come one game away … it’s unfortunate, that’s for sure.
“I talked to him today. He has a great mindset about it. He’s a guy who gets it, who understands. We definitely feel for him, but he’s got the right attitude.”
The Blue Jackets recalled forward Mikael Pyyhtia from AHL Cleveland on Friday.
• Werenski and Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin grew up playing hockey together in Michigan. Werenski has said they first met when he was 8 years old. But that friendship hits pause whenever they play. During the Blue Jackets’ family skate on Friday, Larkin and other Red Wings were warming up with a soccer ball near the rink. Here’s Werenski: “My fiancee (Odette Peters) was like, ‘Should we go say hi to him?’ I was like, ‘No, no, no. We’re not doing that. We hate these guys until the game is over.’ We’re going to battle, we’re going to play hard, and after the game I’ll give him a hug and we’ll talk about it.”
• The Blue Jackets and Red Wings both enter today’s game with 66 points. The Red Wings own the first wild-card playoff spot, and the Blue Jackets the second, because the Wings have more regulation wins. It marks the third time in the NHL’s 43 outdoor games that the two opponents are tied in points. In 2014, Toronto and Detroit were tied (45 points) when they played in a Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium. Two months later, Pittsburgh and Chicago were tied (84 points) when they played a Stadium Series game in Soldier Field.
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• Mayer confirmed to Dave Maetzold of FanDuel Sports Networks that the Ohio State Athletic Band will form script Ohio on the ice at some point tonight. Who dots the I?
• ESPN’s Sean McDonough will handle play-by-play, with Ray Ferraro serving as analyst between the benches. But Blue Jackets TV play-by-play voice Steve Mears will still work the game, serving as the play-by-play voice of the NHL’s international feed, along with former NHLer Brian Boyle. This will be Mears’ seventh outdoor game in the broadcast booth.
(Photo of Twenty One Pilots’ Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph at a Dec. 2024 concert: Scott Eisen / Getty Images)
Aaron Portzline is a senior writer for The Athletic NHL based in Columbus, Ohio. He has been a sportswriter for more than 30 years, winning national and state awards as a reporter at the Columbus Dispatch. In addition, Aaron has been a frequent contributor to the NHL Network and The Hockey News, among other outlets. Follow Aaron on Twitter @Aportzline
