Columbus Blue Jackets Cannot Afford to be Without Josh Anderson

The Columbus Blue Jackets may have lost a key player in a disappointing loss to Vancouver.

Josh Anderson went head first into the goal post late in the second period of a Columbus Blue Jackets loss to the Vancouver Canucks. He wouldn’t return to the game due to an “upper body injury”, which was almost certainly a concussion.

Anderson is currently third on the Blue Jackets in goals with 12 and has been one of the more consistent players to this point in the season. He also leads the team in plus/minus with a rating of +13 and is second behind only Cam Atkinson in shots.

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Losing a player like Josh Anderson could hurt an already disappointing Blue Jackets team, as last night’s breakdown did in fact happen after he went down due to injury. If he is in fact going to miss time, it’ll likely result in Lukas Sedlak drawing into the lineup.

Anderson’s injury will certainly test the Blue Jackets’ depth scoring, as players like Anthony Duclair and Oliver Bjorkstrand will have to step up to keep the team in games which has been an issue in itself as of late.

The Blue Jackets are definitely a better team with Josh Anderson in the lineup and often times he acts as a catalyst to spark the team. Without that, the second line gets much weaker and each line below gets even weaker than before.

With the team already in a point of not being able to close out games or play a full sixty minutes, the injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The effect that losing Anderson will have on the team remains to be seen, but it won’t be pretty if the third period of last night’s game is any indicator of what’s to come.