As cliche as it sounds, a moment may have flipped the Columbus Blue Jackets' game against the Tampa Bay Lightning last weekend. The moment resulted in an injury to Matt Calvert, one of their most consistent players so far, and he will miss 3-to-4 weeks of action.
Calvert took a bone-crunching hit from Lightning defenseman Dan Girardi during the game. Calvert immediately went back to the dressing room and didn't return. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported yesterday that Calvert flew home to Columbus.
Calvert went back to the dressing room due to this bone crunching hit from Dan Girardi. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/4DYjf9UXB9
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) November 5, 2017
The Blue Jackets have placed Calvert on injured reserve, joining Cam Atkinson among the ranks of injured forwards. Atkinson is on IR retroactive to Oct. 28, meaning he is eligible to return and be activated at any time.
While Calvert's health is of the utmost importance, it slows down one of the fastest starts in the career of the Manitoba native. He currently leads the team in even strength points and points per 60. For a player that struggled mightily to score last year, this has been a welcomed change.
Calvert has gotten minutes up and down the lineup; having played in the bottom six for most of last season, he has stepped up to the occasion and made himself into a valuable piece once again.
His underlying numbers look to be fairly sustainable. His PDO sits at 102 and his xGF% is around 60% while his actual GF% sits at 60%. Calvert is outperforming his metrics slightly, but not enough to think he can't keep it up.
“Clean hit. Clean hit,” head coach John Tortorella said of the play that injured Calvert. “Danny Girardi's not going after anybody's head. That's just a clean hit. It's unfortunate Calvy gets banged up.”
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