Josh Anderson is traveling with the Columbus Blue Jackets to Western Canada. He shouldn’t play though.
10 straight wins for any team is impressive for any team. When you factor in the loss of the Columbus Blue Jackets second highest scorer at the time the feat is an even loftier achievement. Battling through the last month without Josh Anderson hasn’t slowed the team down at all.
Thats why the playoff bound Jackets shouldn’t push Anderson back into play anytime soon. Josh has been nursing a knee sprain since late February. It’s a challenging injury to return from and generally takes four to six weeks.
The CBJ have recent experience dealing with an injured top flight player looking to return to the lineup and they should lean on that. Seth Jones was dealing with an upper body injury just last week and the Jackets were patient and took their time getting him back into the lineup. Although Jones traveled with the team to Boston and New York for their two game road trip, he didn’t play.
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They should implement the same precautions with Anderson as the team now travels to Western Canada to play Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver in five days. Anderson’s goal scoring ability and physical style of play are too important to the Jackets to rush him back. He is the type of player that will be counted on to provide great defensive effort and a scoring scare on the third line in the playoffs.
The Seth Jones sit strategy worked like a charm. Jones came back rested and fully healthy. He scored a goal in his first game back from injury. With the way the Jackets are playing right now, Anderson should certainly get the same treatment.
The Columbus Blue Jackets impressive 10 game winning streak came to an end Saturday night. The 2-1 loss was only the second time in the last ten games they failed to score three or more goals in a game. The lack of scoring wasn’t from offensive decencies though, it was just a goalie that was on fire.
No need to rush Josh Anderson back. Have him enjoy the three game swing through Canada in a suit watching from the press box.