"he toughest question Blue Jackets interim coach Todd Richards faced in his postgame news conference last night came when he was asked for a rundown on the club's injured players.

Seriously, who could keep it straight?

The Blue Jackets lost another game — 4-2 to the Dallas Stars before 15,943 in Nationwide Arena — and they lost two more players to long-term injuries.

Defenseman Marc Methot was struck in the left side of the face by a puck just before the Stars took a 2-0 lead only 4:21 into the game. After writhing on the ice for nearly a minute, Methot skated to the dressing room with a towel pressed to his face. He left behind a pool of blood on the ice.

He suffered a broken jaw, Richards said, and likely is lost for the rest of the season."