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Patrik Laine

Snapshots: Three Stars, Laine, Bear

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The NHL released its Three Stars for last week, with Filip Forsberg leading the way. The Nashville Predators winger scored five goals and seven points in three games, extending his lead in the team scoring race. Forsberg now has 14 goals and 32 points in 35 games, not quite the same pace he set last season when looking for a new contract. Even with a Forsberg hat trick on New Year’s Eve, the Predators failed to secure two points against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Second and third went to Erik Karlsson and Antti Raanta, who each had outstanding weeks. Karlsson had seven assists in four games and now leads the entire NHL in that category with 40 through his first 39 games. The San Jose Sharks defenseman is having an incredible bounce-back campaign and will once again be a Norris candidate thanks to a huge point total. Raanta, meanwhile, stopped 67 of 71 shots across three wins, keeping the Carolina Hurricanes on their 11-game streak.

  • Patrik Laine is out of COVID protocol and back with the Columbus Blue Jackets, according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. The star ginger will be back in the lineup tomorrow and is expected to skate with Kent Johnson and Jonny Gaudreau on the top line. Laine’s season has been constantly interrupted by injury and illness, resulting in just 20 games played so far. He has nine goals and 16 points in those appearances.
  • Portzline adds that Nick Blankenburg, who has been out since November, will travel with the club for their game against the Ottawa Senators but is not expected to play. The 24-year-old was averaging more than 18 minutes a night in his seven appearances before going down to a broken ankle.
  • Now that the calendar has been turned to 2023, players on one-year deals are eligible to sign extensions as Joe Pavelski did yesterday. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Ethan Bear and the Vancouver Canucks are expected to talk this week about a potential deal, though there is no guarantee a contract is signed so quickly. Bear has played well for the Canucks since they acquired him at the end of October from the Carolina Hurricanes, and is currently scheduled to become a restricted free agent when his one-year, $2.2MM deal expires.

Metropolitan Notes: Pacioretty, Blue Jackets, Johansen, Islanders

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Hurricanes winger Max Pacioretty has taken another step towards returning to the lineup as Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News and Observer reports (Twitter link) that the veteran is no longer in a no-contact jersey.  Pacioretty has been out for the entire year so far after undergoing offseason surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon and while he’s still likely to be out a little while longer for conditioning purposes, he’ll be a key addition to Carolina’s lineup for the second half of the season.  He had 19 goals and 18 assists in 39 games with Vegas last year but was moved in the offseason as a cap-saving move.  Carolina shouldn’t have any issues activating Pacioretty from LTIR when he’s given the green light to return.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins remains in COVID protocol, relays Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link). With Joonas Korpisalo returning just before the holiday break, Columbus didn’t need to recall a goalie but as Merzlikins has missed a full week now, the team could move him to IR in the short-term to open up a roster spot.  Meanwhile, Hedger adds in a separate tweet that winger Patrik Laine has also been placed in COVID protocol.  Head coach Brad Larsen wasn’t sure when Laine first was placed there and for the time being, he’s listed as questionable for their game against the Islanders on Thursday.  Laine has nine goals and seven assists in 20 games this season.
  • The Capitals announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Lucas Johansen from AHL Hershey. The 25-year-old has played in two games for Washington this season plus 13 more in the minors where he has a goal and an assist.  To make room for Johansen on the active roster, blueliner John Carlson was placed on injured reserve.
  • Islanders wingers Kyle Palmieri and Cal Clutterbuck are skating on their own as they continue to work their way back from upper-body injuries sustained back on the 16th, notes Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). Palmieri has been somewhat quiet offensively this season with just nine points in 21 games while Clutterbuck has five points and 98 hits in 26 contests.  Both players are listed as day-to-day.

Patrik Laine, Elvis Merzlikins Activated From Injured Reserve

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are getting healthier. Patrik Laine and Elvis Merzlikins have both been activated from injured reserve, with Daniil Tarasov loaned back to the AHL to make room. The move suggests both will be ready to return tomorrow against the Winnipeg Jets.

Laine, 24, has played eight games this season between two separate stints on IR and has just two goals so far. The Finnish sniper signed a four-year, $34.8MM deal in the offseason that secured his future with the Blue Jackets, and put him in line for a career year across from newcomer Johnny Gaudreau. Things haven’t gone according to plan, with Laine and a huge chunk of the Columbus roster spending more time on the shelf than the ice.

For Merzlikins, things haven’t gone well even when he was healthy. The 28-year-old netminder posted a .864 save percentage through nine appearances, his last coming on November 15. He has recorded a performance above .900 just once this season, and has allowed at least five goals in four of nine games. If the Blue Jackets have any chance of climbing back into the race, they need Merzlikins to find the level of play he showed as a rookie, when he finished fifth in both Calder and Vezina voting.

Coincidentally, Tarasov has actually been much closer to those numbers this season, posting a .912 in six appearances. While the team has faith in Merzlikins as the starter, they shouldn’t hesitate to go back to the young Tarasov if the former continues to struggle.

Patrik Laine Will Travel With Blue Jackets

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have had just about everything go wrong this season, including two injured reserve stints by star forward Patrik Laine. The latest one, which has kept him out of the lineup since November 12, might be coming to an end soon. Laine is expected to travel with the Blue Jackets when they head to Winnipeg to take on his former team on Friday, though it is not determined yet whether he’ll play in that game, according to team reporter Jeff Svoboda.

The 24-year-old sniper just hasn’t been able to get anything going this season, after getting injured in the opener and then again after his eighth appearance. He does have two goals and four points, but there has been no rhythm to his season so far.

Big things were expected of Laine, after a point-per-game campaign in 2021-22 and the addition of Johnny Gaudreau in free agency. The two seemed like a strong match stylistically, with the smaller Gaudreau able to create shots for his teammates with ease. While the newcomer does lead the team in points with 22, it hasn’t generated many wins.

The Blue Jackets sit dead last in the Metropolitan Division, five points behind a team that just went through a ten-game losing streak. Laine is just one of the many injured Columbus players, a list that includes Jakub Voracek, Elvis Merzlikins, Jake Bean, Justin Danforth, Nick Blankenburg, Adam Boqvist, and – perhaps most importantly – Zach Werenski.

Getting Laine back would be a huge boost, though it’s hard to imagine the Blue Jackets getting back into the race at this point.

Patrik Laine Moved To Injured Reserve; Daniil Tarasov Recalled

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The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to be ravaged by injury. This time, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that Elvis Merzlikins, Jake Bean, and Emil Bemstrom were all having medical tests completed this afternoon to determine the extent of their various injuries. With Merzlikins out, the team has recalled Daniil Tarasov from the minor leagues under emergency conditions. Patrik Laine has been moved to injured reserve, as he is expected to miss quite a while with a sprained ankle.

Merzlikins left last night’s game with an undisclosed injury and wasn’t present at practice today, leaving Joonas Korpisalo as the only professional netminder on the ice (the other goal was tended by Reid Robertson, who is in their hockey ops department, according to team reporter Jeff Svoboda).

These three new injuries are in addition to the absences of Laine, Zach Werenski, Jakub Voracek, Justin Danforth, Nick Blankenburg, and Adam Boqvist, who are all on injured reserve as well. Things are unraveling in Columbus, and yet they still squeaked out an overtime win last night against the Philadelphia Flyers to climb to 5-9-1 on the year.

Tarasov, 23, has already appeared in five games for the team this season, posting a .893 save percentage. The young netminder has shown promise but is limited by inconsistency (as many young netminders are). Still, with Korpisalo an inconsistent enigma himself, they may end up sharing the workload should Merzlikins end up on the shelf for a while.

Patrik Laine Out With Sprained Ankle

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have been crushed by injury this season and it is only getting worse. Patrik Laine has been ruled out for three to four weeks with a sprained ankle, suffered in Saturday’s game against the New York Islanders.

Columbus is already without Zach Werenski for the rest of the season and recently put Jakub Voracek, Sean Kuraly, Justin Danforth, and Nick Blankenburg on injured reserve. Adam Boqvist is still on LTIR as well, and this season is quickly getting away from the Blue Jackets. The team lost that game against the Islanders (in overtime) and now sit tied with the Anaheim Ducks for last place in the entire NHL.

This isn’t even the first serious injury that Laine has dealt with this season. The Finnish forward missed a good chunk earlier in the year with an elbow sprain he suffered in the first game, and has just two goals in eight games played. Remove another month from his season and this looks like it will be another disappointing campaign for the Blue Jackets, who might be fighting for a lottery pick even after spending a huge amount on free agents in the summer.

Laine himself was one of those signings, inking a new four-year, $34.8MM deal in his final year of restricted free agency. The deal carries a cap hit of $8.7MM and made him the team’s second highest-paid forward, behind free agent acquisition Johnny Gaudreau, who surprised the entire hockey world by signing a seven-year, $68.25MM deal with Columbus. Gaudreau does lead the team in scoring, but that’s not saying much. Boone Jenner and Werenski are currently tied for second with eight points.

The Blue Jackets will be back in action tomorrow against a Philadelphia Flyers team that they beat last week, in the first of a six-game homestand.

Three Columbus Blue Jackets Injured, Brendan Gaunce Recalled

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The Columbus Blue Jackets announced a flurry of injury updates today, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. Forward Jakub Voracek is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, Sean Kuraly is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and Patrik Laine is day-to-day with an illness. Forward Brendan Gaunce was also recalled from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, per a team release.

Voracek missed the second game of Columbus’ Global Series matchups in Finland last week with the injury. It’s a huge blow to their depth scoring if he’s out long-term, as he was tied for second in scoring on the team with six points in 11 games.

Kuraly sustained his upper-body injury in the second Global Series game, leaving in the second period after playing 8:09. He had two goals and two assists through 12 games and was tied for the worst +/- rating on the team (-8).

Laine’s illness is hopefully short-term, as he’s only been present for half of the Blue Jackets’ season thus far with an elbow injury. The Finnish winger has scored twice and is averaging nearly 20 minutes a game.

Gaunce ends up on the active roster as the only healthy extra. The AHL veteran was off to a hot start in Cleveland, registering 11 points through 10 games.

Justin Danforth To Undergo Surgery

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have officially activated Patrik Laine, but buried in the press release is some less positive news. Justin Danforth is headed for surgery next Monday to repair a torn labrum. He is expected to make a full recovery in six months, meaning he’ll be out for most of the season, if not all of it.

Danforth, 29, was a great story of perseverance, working his way up through the ECHL, European leagues, and the AHL before making his NHL debut last season at the age of 28. He even scored ten goals and 14 points in 45 games and earned himself a full-time spot with the team this year. He was off to a good start too, with two goals and three points in his first five games, before being injured early in his sixth.

Now, facing a recovery period of six months, his career is in jeopardy once again. The undersized forward did sign a two-year, one-way contract this summer, but there’s no telling what his game will be like when he comes back from this long absence. Hopefully, he can go right back to the mix of in-your-face energy and skill that he had brought to this point, offering positional and playstyle versatility.

Layoffs this long can quickly turn into opportunities for other players though and with so many talented young forwards in the Blue Jackets system, there’s no guarantee that Danforth returns to an open spot. All he can do now is work on his rehab and try to come back with the same level of play that he left with.

Patrik Laine Set To Return For Columbus Blue Jackets

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are now 3-4 on the year, after an impressive victory over the New York Rangers on Sunday. They will now start a two-game homestand starting with the Arizona Coyotes this evening and received some great news this morning. Patrik Laine is ready to get back into the starting lineup, skating with Boone Jenner and Johnny Gaudreau at this morning’s skate.

Laine, 24, was injured in the first game, less than eight minutes into his season. He had already scored, something that will happen quite a few more times this year, especially if he’s hitting the ice across from Gaudreau on a regular basis. The enigmatic winger has settled into his own in Columbus, scoring 56 points in 56 games last season and signing a four-year, $34.8MM deal to stick around.

The Metropolitan Division is wide open to start the year, with just three points separating first from seventh. Getting Laine back this quickly is a huge boost for a Columbus team that expects to contend for a playoff spot after spending so much money in the offseason. Not only was Laine extended and Gaudreau brought in, but Erik Gudbranson was given a four-year deal, Adam Boqvist was signed to a bridge contract, and Andrew Peeke was handed an extension.

If they can get rolling with their Finnish sniper back in the mix, it’ll be an even more exciting fight in the east.

Latest On Patrik Laine

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The Columbus Blue Jackets got some tough news last week when star winger Patrik Laine sustained an elbow sprain in the team’s season opener and had to be moved to injured reserve immediately. Fortunately, though, it seems his three-to-four-week recovery timeline is still right on schedule, if not a bit ahead. The Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger reported today that Laine skated on his own in full gear for the past two days at the team’s practice facility. Hedger also noted the Finnish star is confident he’ll be ready to play by the first week of November when the Blue Jackets travel to Finland to play a set of games against the Colorado Avalanche.

That’s obviously a huge deal for Laine personally, but also the league, as Laine is the most marketable hometown player who’ll skate in the back-to-back set of games in Tampere. Laine hails directly from Tampere, and while his Avalanche counterpart in Mikko Rantanen may have more publicity overall, there’s nothing like getting to see one of your town’s best-ever hockey products play an NHL game on home soil.

A quick return from Laine is also crucial for Columbus’ playoff hopes. While Johnny Gaudreau has held up his end of the bargain, recording four points in his first four games as a Blue Jacket, their lack of quality offensive depth has been exposed by Laine’s injury. Minor-league and European league journeyman Justin Danforth was the team’s first option to replace Laine on the top line, which is obviously a less-than-ideal situation.

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