When Columbus Blue Jackets star forward Patrik Laine got injured at the hands of Calgary Flames’ defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who was suspended four games for charging the Finn, he was placed on the team’s injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 20 with an upper-body injury and was said to be day to day.
Well, we are more than a week later and Laine still hasn’t begun skating again. Head coach Pascal Vincent gave an update on his injured forward after practice on Tuesday and didn’t share the best of news.
While Vincent did reveal that Laine is improving every day, he also added that “He’s more week-to-week.”
This is not news that the Jackets, nor the fans want to hear.
When it comes to Andersson, his suspension has come to an end, but Laine is still away from the ice. He was hit in the last seconds by Andersson on Friday, October 20th. The poor Blue Jackets superstar laid on the ice for a minute or two in obvious discomfort while his teammates came to his defense in a chaotic ending.
There is hope in the sense that Laine always appears to come back from injury quicker than normal. However, while it is labelled an upper-body injury, it looks like it very well be a concussion which means he could need to take his time and make sure he’s right before he decides to come back. The focus should be on his long-term health.
Columbus plays on Thursday next, against the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning, and it should be expected that Laine won’t be in the lineup.
The Blue Jackets play the Flames again on January 25th, in Calgary, and I cannot wait to see how or if Laine and his teammates will take revenge on Andersson and the Flames.
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