Erik Gudbranson, Elvis Merzlikins swept into Columbus Blue Jackets' new injury plague
It's beyond the point of ridiculous.
Another rash of injuries is biting the Blue Jackets three games into the season after health problems helped land them in the NHL's basement the past two seasons. Erik Gudbranson (upper body) a veteran defenseman, was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, while goalie Elvis Merzlikins (upper body) is hurt and expected to be out short-term.
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Goalie Jet Greaves has rejoined the Blue Jackets on emergency recall from the Cleveland Monsters and is likely to backup Daniil Tarasov Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres.
Gudbranson, a stout defenseman who plays the right point on the third defense pairing, could be out for a while with his unspecified upper-body issue. The 6 foot 5, 225-pound veteran accidentally collided with teammate Sean Monahan in the Blue Jackets' 4-3 loss Tuesday to the Florida Panthers.
They knocked each other over during the second period of the Jackets' home opener at Nationwide Arena after an emotional pregame memorial was held to honor Johnny Gaudreau — who died along with his brother, Matthew, while riding bikes Aug. 29 in South Jersey.
Monahan wasn't injured after both fell to the ice, but Gudbranson stayed down in pain before scrambling to his feet, skating off and heading straight to the training room while holding his right arm. He was ruled out, and Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said the prognosis "didn't look good," after the game.
Gudbranson, who provides a steady defensive presence along with leadership and grit, will get a second opinion before anything else is announced or done. He joins forwards Boone Jenner (shoulder surgery), Justin Danforth (wrist), Dmitri Voronkov (upper body) and Gavin Brindley (broken finger) on injured reserve.
Jenner also got a second opinion before getting shoulder surgery done in Colorado that will keep him out most, if not all, season. Danforth has skated in full practices since Friday, so he may be close to returning, especially with the Blue Jackets placing forward Dylan Gambrell on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the AHL's Cleveland Monsters.
Merzlikins, meanwhile, is out with what was initially described by a team source as "physical fatigue," and then called a short-term, upper-body injury. He's the Blue Jackets' highest-paid goalie at $5.4 million a season and has two more years left on his contract.
Merzlikins, 30, has dealt with injuries and illness the past two years, including 14 games missed last season. He was out for two games with an upper-body injury, seven battling a lower-body injury, and five games during four separate bouts of illness.
That's par for the course for the Blue Jackets, who've lost a combined 890 man-games to injuries and other health issues the past two years, before also losing Gaudreau to the offseason tragedy.
Despite their latest setbacks, the Jackets have impressed in their first three games.
They're 1-2-0 going into the matchup against Buffalo, but the two losses were only by one goal while the Jackets pushed for a tying tally with their net empty in the waning minutes of the game. Each injury also provides opportunity, and it looks like David Jiricek, a talented young right-handed defenseman, will get first crack at Gudbranson's spot.
Jiricek, selected sixth overall in 2022, has watched the first three games as a healthy scratch. He carries a lot of offensive ability while trying to improve in the defensive and neutral zones.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Injury afflicted Columbus Blue Jackets lose Gudbranson, Merzlikins
