Blue Jackets limping to the finish line after latest wave of injuries
COLUMBUS, Ohio — With 10 games left in the Blue Jackets’ season, it’s becoming painfully obvious — quite literally — that this season will end in the most fitting way: with another wave of injuries.
Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen spent the morning putting together a group for practice, just as he will put together a lineup Tuesday when Columbus plays the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
The last gutting:
• Defender Erik Gudbranson, who was leading on a decimated blue line, has ruled out this season with a severed shoulder. Nick Blankenburg, who (once again) tried to play his way through an ankle injury, will be sidelined “week after week”.
• Forward Mathieu Olivier, who was spotted leaving the Blue Jackets dressing room on crutches on Monday, is out for two to four weeks with a fractured bone in his lower leg.
• Goalkeeper Elvis Merzlikins, who has been up and down the squad all season, is out again with a lower body injury. The Blue Jackets would have recalled goaltender Daniil Tarasov from AHL Cleveland, but he sustained an upper-body injury in Rochester on Sunday and is likely out for the season.
“It’s frustrating,” Larsen said. “Exhausting could be another word for it. It’s just very challenging.
“You’re trying to keep things afloat here, but we’re stalling again and losing some key people in key areas. That’s pretty much how the year went. You get a little taste of health – just a little bit – and then we lose some key players again.”
The Blue Jackets recalled defenseman Billy Sweezey from AHL Cleveland on Monday. The 27-year-old will dress in his second NHL career game tonight. The six defending jackets have 541 NHL games under their belts, led by Andrew Peeke with 185.
On Sunday, goaltender Jon Gillies was recalled from AHL Cleveland following Merzlikin’s recent illness. When Gillies supports Michael Hutchinson at the Garden on Tuesday, it will be the eighth different pro sweater he has worn since the start of last season, which also included St. Louis and New Jersey in the NHL.
There are so many ways to gauge the Blue Jackets’ injury woes this season.
Here’s another simple one: If the puck falls against Rangers tonight, they will have lost 472 man games to injuries. With eight players currently on the shelf, they’re on track to break the franchise’s record of 508 lost man games (set in 2014-15).
Here’s another way that really makes it clear what the Blue Jackets have been up against since the start of the season.
Just seven players in today’s lineup against the Rangers were in the lineup when the healthy and hopeful Blue Jackets opened the season Oct. 12 in Carolina. It’s pretty amazing to see it all on one map.
line 1
12th of October: Johnny Gaudreau – Boone Jenner – Patrik Laine
Today: Johnny Gaudreau – Boone Jenner – Kirill Marchenko
Summary: Laine falls out of the lineup for the fourth time this season. He contracted a triceps in training late last week and is expected to be out for two to four weeks. … Jenner missed three weeks earlier this season with a broken thumb.
line 2
12 Oct: Yegor Chinakhov-Jack Roslovic-Jakub Voracek
Today: Kent Johnson-Jack Roslovic-Lane Pederson
Summary: Voracek only played 11 games before suffering a career-ending concussion during the NHL Global Series in Finland. The Blue Jackets traded his contract to Arizona. … Chinakhov has not played an NHL game since December 19 due to a sprained ankle. He’s back with AHL Cleveland, but was a recurring roster there due to injury.
line 3
12 Oct: Gus Nyquist – Cole Sillinger – Justin Danforth
Today: Trey Fix-Wolansky – Hunter McKown – Emil Bemstrom
Summary: Nyquist suffered a shoulder injury in late January and was not in the lineup when he was traded to Minnesota in early March. … Cole Sillinger, who was having a seasonal slump, was sent off to AHL Cleveland for the remainder of the season. … Danforth became the first player to sustain a season-ending injury, suffering a labral tear in the sixth game of the season that required surgery. He hopes to return before the end of the season. … Nobody in that line was with the Blue Jackets to start the season. Bemstrom and Fix-Wolansky were at AHL Cleveland; McKown was a junior at Colorado College.
line 4
12 Oct: Eric Robinson – Sean Kuraly – Mathieu Olivier
Today: Eric Robinson – Sean Kuraly – Liam Foudy
Summary: Olivier could be done for the season and breaking the line that Larsen has trusted above all else.
couple 1
12 Oct: Zach Werenski-Adam Boqvist
Today: Tim Berni-Adam Boqvist
Summary: Werenski tore a labrum in game 13 of the season and was out for the season, his worst injury ever. He trained with the club on Monday to give them six defenders but won’t play again until next autumn. … Boqvist missed 33 games earlier this season with an ankle injury.
couple 2
12 Oct: Vladislav GavrikovAndrew Peeke
Today: Gavin BayreutherAndrew Peeke
Summary: Gavrikov, who had played as the Jackets’ No. 1 defense without Werensky, was traded to the Los Angeles Kings at this year’s NHL trade deadline.
couple 3
12 Oct: Jake Bean- Erik Gudbranson
Today: Jake ChristiansenBilly Sweezey
Summary: Bean lost the season with a shoulder injury in game 14 of the season. Gudbranson took on a much bigger role than expected amid the carnage, but now he’s done for the season with an upper-body injury.
goalkeeper
12 Oct: Elvis Merzlikins – Joonas Korpisalo – Daniil Tarasov
Today: Michael Hutchinson—Jon Gillies
Summary: Korpisalo missed the first month recovering from off-season hip surgery, but he has been the Blue Jackets’ healthiest and best goalie this season. They traded him with Gavrikov to the Kings on March 2. … The Blue Jackets couldn’t count on Merzlikins to a) stay healthy or b) play well when he’s healthy. I’m not sure if we’ll see him again this season. … Tarasov has also been in and out of the lineup all season. … Hutchinson and Gillies, two trade throw-ins on deadline day, are now the 1-2 hit, maybe the rest of the way. They have 177 career NHL starts combined.
(Photo by Jake Christiansen and Lane Pederson: Eric Bolte / USA Today)