Columbus Blue Jackets Weekly Notebook: So You're Going to Canada, eh?

For the sixth time this season, the Blue Jackets went to overtime Thursday night against the Anaheim Ducks, but for the first time, the extra session resulted in a loss for Columbus. Trevor Zegras and Rickard Rakell both beat Elvis Merzlikins to take the win for Anaheim.

While they turned it around with an overtime win on Saturday over the Seattle Kraken behind Jake Bean’s game-winner, Columbus has still lost six of their last eight games.

Here’s the latest news to catch up on in this edition of the Blue Jackets weekly notebook.

Laine Returns to Finland for Father’s Funeral

Patrik Laine returned to his native Finland last week after the tragic passing of his father, Harri. The Blue Jackets have asked for privacy for Patrik and the Laine family, leaving little detail available to the public at this time.

Laine has been out of the lineup while recovering from an oblique strain. He is expected to rejoin the Columbus roster when he returns from Finland. We at betJACK offer Patrik and the Laine family our deepest condolences.

Injury Update

Adam Boqvist was put on injured reserve on Friday following an upper-body injury suffered against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday. He is expected to miss at least a week. Boqvist already missed time with a lower-body injury this season, but while healthy, he’s shown tons of promise. The 21-year-old blueliner has six goals and three assists in 18 games.

Jake Christiansen was called up from Cleveland and could make his NHL debut against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Christiansen was undrafted but has impressed with the Cleveland Monsters, scoring five goals and 18 points in 21 games this season.

Dean Kukan is nearing a return as well, but he’s still expected to miss another two weeks while recovering from a fractured wrist. Kukan’s targeted return is December 23. He’s expected to slot in on the third pairing when he’s back in the lineup.

The Week Ahead

Tuesday, Dec 12 @ Vancouver Canucks, 10:00 PM Eastern

Vancouver is 4-0 under new head coach Bruce Boudreau, outscoring opponents 12-4 in that span. Thatcher Demko has started each of the past seven games, going 6-1 in that span.

The Canucks’ offense has been anemic this season, averaging 2.38 goals per game (Columbus puts up 3.23), but they’ve also been better than the Blue Jackets defensively (2.90 goals against per game for Vancouver, 3.27 for Columbus).

Thursday, Dec 14 @ Edmonton Oilers, 9:00 PM Eastern

The middle of the five-game road trip comes against one of the most dangerous offenses in the league. Leading scorers Leon Draisaitl (23 goals, 22 assists) and Connor McDavid (16 goals, 29 assists) will make things difficult, but with five straight losses as of publication, Columbus could be catching the Oilers at the right time.

Saturday, Dec 16 @ Calgary Flames, 10:00 PM Eastern

Like Edmonton, Calgary has a potent roster, but the Flames have been far more impressive on the road (11-4-2) than at home (4-3-4). Jacob Markstrom (10-6-5, .933 save percentage, 1.94 GAA) leads the league with five shutouts.