Crashing the Net: Hits keep coming as Bobrovsky latest to suffer injury
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The words "catching a break" are not in the lexicon of the Blue Jackets as they ready themselves to play their ninth game of the season. As the saying goes, the hits just keep on coming.
With the Ottawa Senators in Columbus, the team announced Tuesday morning that goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky suffered a broken finger in practice Monday and is expected to miss one to two weeks. After placing him on Injured Reserve, the team recalled goaltender Anton Forsberg from their AHL-affiliate Springfield Falcons on an emergency basis.
"We're going to miss him (Bobrovsky) for one to two weeks," said head coach Todd Richards. "Curtis McElhinney is going to get the ball here for a while."
This comes on the heels of forward Nick Foligno being stretchered off the ice Sunday during the game with the Los Angeles Kings. Foligno is listed as day-to-day with a stiff neck. Forward Matt Calvert is on IR with an upper body injury and out for an expected one week.
"Listen," said Richards when asked if exasperation is setting in, "this is what it is. So, you have to deal with it. It's always about solutions. Players get opportunities; that's the way you have to look at it. The door has opened up for (McElhinney). Right now, it's Curtis' ball."
Talk about a depleted lineup means opportunity for others to step up. Forward Alex Wennberg was recalled one day after being assigned to Springfield, although he never physically left the team. He's struggled a bit, as of late, and this is a chance for him to get back on an upward trajectory in his development.
"He's going to be in the lineup," said Richards of Wennberg. "It's an opportunity. If Nick (Foligno) was healthy, (Wennberg) would not be in the lineup. So, there's definitely an opportunity there.
"Marko Dano might get some power play minutes and some more 5-on-5 minutes. (Adam) Cracknell and (Corey) Tropp both played well in the L.A. game and had an impact. So, there are opportunities with these other guys out of the lineup."
These are all players that need to step up and fill the skates of those that are missing. This also means that Todd Richards has had to reshuffle his lines, once again. Forward Corey Tropp, a healthy scratch for the first few games of the season, is in and playing on a line centered by Artem Anisimov with Marko Dano on the other wing.
"I'm just going to go out, work hard and have fun," said Tropp. "When you look at Arty (Anisimov), he's a heck of a player and an Olympian. Whenever you get an opportunity to play with a guy like him, you want to go out and really work hard. Marko (Dano) is a great young player, too. It's exciting."
Atkinson back in
Forward Cam Atkinson, after having his face cut open by Ryan Kessler's skate on Friday and missing Sunday's game, is back in the lineup for the Blue Jackets on home ice. He looks better than he did on Saturday when he posted a picture of the cut around his eye to social media.
"It's ready to go," Atkinson said of the cut around his right eye. "It's not 100%, but I can see and the peripheral vision is there. I'm going to play."
He's in good spirits and ready to go, but don't expect him to be feeling sorry for the team with all of the injuries. That's a feeling that runs through all of his teammates, too.
Against Ottawa, he'll be on line centered by Ryan Johansen and Scott Hartnell on the opposite wing.
"I'm playing with some pretty good players," he said of Johansen and Hartnell. "You know, we're a good team when we stick to our structure. Even though we lost the last couple of games, we showed some improvement. We had a good practice today and we're going to be ready to go tonight."
Blue Jackets a.m. skate lineup
Forwards:
Hartnell-Johansen-Atkinson
Dano-Anisimov-Tropp
Wennberg-Letestu-Skille
Boll-Chaput-Cracknell
Defense:
Johnson-Prout
Wisniewski-Murray
Tyutin-Savard
Goaltender: McElhinney with Forsberg as backup
Defensemen Tim Erixon and Cody Goloubef are the healthy scratches.
