How bad are the injuries for the Columbus Blue Jackets?
The Blue Jackets played in Arizona last night missing 8 NHL regulars from their lineup. Which had me wondering: would all of these guys really be out if this team were competing for a playoff spot?
The Jackets fought the good fight in Arizona last night. They held the lead over the Coyotes after 20 minutes. They scrapped back into the game, tying it up late in the second after surrendering two straight.
But the Coyotes proved to just be too much for the plucky Jackets, rattling off four unanswered goals in the third period (two shorthanded), en route to a 6-2 win.
It's the fifth consecutive loss for the Blue Jackets, a stretch where they've been outscored 28-13. It's hard not to notice the fact that this team is completely out-matched by every opponent they come up against.
Part of that is due to the fact that nearly half of the current CBJ roster is filled up with AHL players. With the Jackets well out of any meaningful race, audition season is in full effect.
Several players are vying for ice time, hoping to steal some attention and make a mark for themselves as future NHL players.
While I expected a few late season call-ups, I was left wondering last night: would all 8 players really be injured enough to miss significant time, if this team were in a playoff race?
The Jackets are missing some vital pieces from their lineup. Some of them would certainly be out (we know the extent of some of the injuries), but all 8 guys?
The obvious ones here: Kent Johnson (torn labrum), Adam Fantilli (leg laceration), Justin Danforth (concussion, indefinite) and Patrik Laine (NHLPA assistance program). I don't think any of these four would be on the ice for the club right now, regardless the situation.
The other four have me wondering. Yegor Chinakhov (upper body, day to day), Sean Kuraly (lower body, week to week), Alex Nylander (upper body, day to day), and Adam Boqvist (upper body, indefinite) all have a bit of mystery surrounding their ailments.
As we all know, teams frequently enter their stretch and playoff runs with all kinds of bumps and bruises. So, as we speculate about this team's harsh injury success, it's worth posing these questions:
Is this team really as beat up as it seems like they are? Or, are they taking advantage of minor ailments to use emergency recalls and audition some new faces?
We will likely never know. But, my hope is that this team isn't heading down another dark path of injury troubles. They need to improve next season in a big way, and part of that improvement will definitely mean better health.
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