Blue Jackets dealt tough injury news, losing Patrik Laine 4 to 6 weeks
A season of opportunity for the Blue Jackets now includes the biggest of them all.
Left wing Patrik Laine, who has 10 points in nine games, is expected to miss four to six weeks with an oblique strain that occurred in a 5-4 overtime win against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday in Denver.
“We’re losing a pretty important guy to us,” coach Brad Larsen said Friday. “It is what it is, right? Just part of the game and just gonna have to deal with it.”
The injury appeared to occur in the third period during Laine’s attempted forecheck in the Avalanche zone. The 6-foot-5, 216-pound Laine got tangled up with Colorado defenseman Bowen Byrum behind the net, struck the end boards with his right skate and fell awkwardly. Laine quickly rose to his feet and finished the shift, but left the game with 7:57 to play and didn’t return.
"I don’t even think he really knows when it happened," Larsen said, when asked his opinion of Byrum's part of the collision. "(He) actually thought he was cramping and it ended up being more than that. That’s about it, really."
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It’s a massive loss for one of the NHL’s youngest teams.
Patrik Laine's role
Laine has played a big part in helping the Blue Jackets get off to a 6-3-0 start that has surprised many who had written them off prior to the season. His elite goal-scoring ability hadn’t fully surfaced, but Laine’s chemistry with Jakub Voracek, a playmaker on the right wing, was steadily growing.
A mid-game switch to put rookie center Cole Sillinger in the middle of their line paid off early in the third period against the Avalanche. The Jackets took a 3-2 lead on back-to-back goals by the 18-year old pivot in a 3:13 span and Laine was credited with secondary assists on both.
Yegor Chinakhov, a Russian rookie forward with a big shot, skated with Sillinger and Voracek during 5-on-5 drills Friday. Larsen has other options he could put there too, including Oliver Bjorkstrand, Gustav Nyquist, Alexandre Texier and Gregory Hofmann, a blazing fast 28-year old forward playing his first NHL season.
"Those are some good minutes there that someone’s gonna get an opportunity and someone’s gonna have to fill it," Larsen said. "We’ve got some guys that I think are champing on the bit to do something in that spot. Guys are dying to play more. You know they are. Then they get it and it’s like, 'Alright, now show me.' "
Laine's absence will especially be felt on power plays, where his presence in the left faceoff circle is continually monitored by opposing penalty killers. Even when he’s unable to score goals from that spot, Laine’s keen passing ability often sets teammates up with scoring chances.
More: Photos: Blue Jackets 5, Avalanche 4, OT
Four of his seven assists were during man-advantage situations, helping the Blue Jackets go 6-for-24 on power plays (25%). Prior to Friday’s games, that percentage had Columbus tied for eighth in the NHL with the Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins.
Sillinger was moved up from the second unit in practice to take Laine’s spot with the top group, opposite of Voracek on the right wing. Hofmann was added to the Sillinger's former spot in front of the net on the second unit, which has Nyquist in the middle, Chinakhov on the left side and Jack Roslovic on the right.
"You look at other teams around the league, this is happening everywhere," Larsen said. "Whether it’s sickness, whether it’s injuries, (over) 82 games this is gonna happen, whether it’s early or later."
Look no further for proof than Colorado, which will face the Jackets in the finale of the two-game season series on Saturday at Nationwide Arena. The Avalanche had six players out with injuries in the game Wednesday, including stars Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar.
They lost forward Martin Kaut in the game Wednesday at Ball Arena, but may get Rantanen, Andre Burakovsky and Devon Toews back for Saturday's rematch.
"We’ve got a pretty good team coming in that took a tough loss and they’re getting a little bit healthier," Larsen said. "We’re gonna have our hands full (Saturday)."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets' Patrik Laine out 4-to-6 weeks with oblique strain
