A big blow to start the year.
The Blue Jackets announced that Patrik Laine will miss the next 3-4 weeks with an elbow sprain he suffered in the second period of Wednesday night's 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The club has placed Laine on injured reserve.
NEWS: #CBJ place winger Patrik Laine on Injured Reserve. The forward is expected to miss 3-to-4 weeks with an elbow sprain suffered on Wednesday at Carolina.https://t.co/Ki0iWXUzrR
— CBJ Public Relations (@BlueJacketsPR) October 13, 2022
If Laine misses the next three weeks and returns on November 3rd, he will miss nine games and return one day before the team plays two games against the Colorado Avalanche in Laine's hometown of Tampere, Finland.
If he misses the next four weeks and returns on November 10th, he will miss 11 total games, including the two in Tampere, and return on the day the Flyers come to Columbus for the first time this season. If he can't play in Finland, that would be a massive disappointment both for Laine and the people of Tampere.
Before leaving the game Wednesday, Laine was arguably the best player for either team. He played 12 shifts for a total of 7:49 and scored a goal on two shots. He skated with Johnny Gaudreau and Boone Jenner on the team's top line for 7:04. That line generated five scoring chances for and just one scoring chance against at 5v5, per naturalstattrick.com.
It's a brutal blow for the Jackets at the beginning of their season.
