The Blue Jackets seem to have avoided injury scares with Dmitri Voronkov and Sean Monahan from Friday night's loss in Buffalo. Both players left the game early, but are back and practicing with the team as normal. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Conor Garland, who is going to miss some time with an undisclosed upper body injury.
This means some line shuffling is going to take place, beginning tomorrow night against the Florida Panthers. The Jackets are going to need all of the help they can get against one of the league's best teams, who beat them in their first matchup by a 7-3 final a few weeks back.
At practice this morning, the team rolled out the following look:
#CBJ Dmitri Voronkov will play on a line w center Adam Fantilli and winger Val Nichushkin vs #FlaPanthers, per Bowness.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) November 9, 2026
Top line is center Sean Monahan w winger Matthew Knies and Kent Johnson.
Third line intact. Fourth line will be Jack Williams, Steven Lorentz and Ryan Lomberg.
Spreading the scoring around?
It appears that Rick Bowness is going to keep Adam Fantilli away from Kent Johnson for the time being, and that seems wise. We wrote just this morning about Fantilli's offensive struggles, and while I'm not in love with Sean Monahan on the top line; they have to try something to get #19 going.
I think that line with Valeri Nichushkin and Dmitri Voronkov might just work. Nichushkin has played pretty well, often using his size and speed to drive play. But, with the puck on his stick, I've noticed him running out of time and space before getting the support he needs to make plays.
Putting Fantilli alongside him should alleviate the times he's left waiting. And, adding Voronkov on the other wing gives this line a lot more size, as well as a guy that can get to the front of the net. On paper, this should work.
At this point, whatever it takes to get the offensive mojo going in the right direction. The third line stays the same, and the fourth line should be nasty to play against. I'm interested to see if Jack Williams can settle in and play his game with a couple of experienced veterans alongside.
Of course, in this situation, it looks like Luca Del Bel Belluz is the odd man out. Which makes us wonder: how long until this franchise either gives him a proper chance in the top-six; or offers him a change of scenery?
Garland to miss some time.
The team hasn't made anything official, but Bowness said that Garland is set to be out indefinitely. He didn't miss any time in the Buffalo game-in fact, he was on the ice at the very end of the game.
He has just one point (an assist) on the season thus far, but the team's depth will be tested without his speed and skill. Hopefully he has a speedy recovery, and the rest he's getting will give him a chance to reset and find his game.
In the meantime, lets see how the Jackets can fare with an even bigger, heavier lineup at their disposal.
Add us as a preferred source on Google