Blue Jackets lose Conor Garland, then lose to Panthers

The week started with a Blue Jackets practice that went sideways almost right away. Garland missed a 2nd straight day, and then Adam Fantilli got run over by his own teammate.

Brian Hedger

@BrianHedger

Del Bel Belluz centering Fantilli’s line now, as Fantilli gets checked out. Both he and Provorov went down after the high-speed collision in the D-zone, but Provorov seems to be OK. He’s a tank, so Fantilli got the wors of that one. #CBJ

Fantilli was back on the ice a few minutes later, so everyone in Columbus got to exhale. It was still a rough day for the kid. He also got pinned along the boards during power-play work and smashed his stick on the wall over it. A day later he said he felt better physically, though he wasn't thrilled about how he got there.

Then came the news that actually mattered. Garland had been trying to get through an upper-body injury by skipping practices, and that stopped working. Rick Bowness ruled him out for Florida and wouldn't put a timeline on his return.

Aaron Portzline

@Aportzline

#CBJ Conor Garland will not play vs. #FlaPanthers. Upper body injury. Out indefinitely.

To be fair, Garland's start wasn't exactly carrying the team. He had 1 assist through 15 games. Still, he's a skilled middle-six winger, and losing him on a roster that hasn't figured itself out yet stings. The rest of the injury report was a mixed bag. Sean Monahan (foot) was skating again after blocking a shot in Buffalo. Isac Lundestrom (Achilles) was in a red no-contact sweater and is still a couple of weeks away. Denton Mateychuk had the scariest scare of the bunch.

Brian Hedger

@BrianHedger

Every once in a while, you get a stark reminder that hockey players compete while zipping around on razor blades with weapons in their hands. Denton Mateychuk had a close call Sunday in practice, cut by a teammate’s stick blade during a battle. #CBJ

Mateychuk said he felt the stick press into his eye and had blurry vision for a moment. He got lucky, it cleared up, and he was cleared to play Tuesday. Bowness rebuilt the lines around the hole Garland left. Monahan centered Matthew Knies and Kent Johnson, Fantilli got Dmitri Voronkov and Val Nichushkin, and the 3rd line stayed together.

On Tuesday the lineup leaned on a few former Panthers. Erik Gudbranson came back in after 2 straight healthy scratches, Ryan Lomberg returned to the 4th line, and Jake Christiansen sat. Cam Talbot started in net after taking the starter's crease at practice Sunday and Monday. Florida came to Nationwide having lost 2 straight and 3 of 4, and Bowness admitted the 7-3 beating from 4 weeks earlier was fresh on everyone's mind.

It didn't help. Florida led 2-1 late, and Fantilli and Brady Tkachuk traded shots after a puck battle and went off with matching roughing minors. When Talbot came out for the extra attacker, Sam Reinhart hit the empty net almost immediately. Gudbranson went after Tkachuk for a late hit on Fantilli, and both picked up 10-minute misconducts in the final minute. It was a frustrated ending to a game Columbus never really controlled.

George Richards

@GeorgeRichards

The #FlaPanthers ended a two-game slide with a win against the #CBJ. Sam Bennett scored twice, Jacob Markstrom made 36 saves, and Sam Reinhart passed Jonathan Huberdeau for second on the franchise goals list. Postgame from Paul Maurice, Bennett, Reinhart, and Markstrom ➡️

Markstrom made 36 saves, so the Jackets did put pucks on net. They just didn't make him sweat much. That's 10 Florida wins in the last 11 meetings and 2-0 this season. The bigger worry is what the loss says about Columbus as a team.

Aaron Portzline

@Aportzline

The Athletic: #CBJ “running out of time” after blase’ 4-1 loss to #FlaPanthers #CBJ have played one-fifth of the season. They haven’t defined who they are or how they want to play. Or maybe Tuesday’s game is who they are, and nobody wants to admit it. t.co/Layimllbq8

That's the real problem. A fifth of the way into the season, the Blue Jackets still look like a team without an identity, and now they're missing a top-9 winger for who knows how long. Watch for an update on Garland's injury and whether Bowness keeps the Fantilli-Voronkov-Nichushkin line together. If Columbus can't string a few wins together soon, it'll be time for real changes, not just new line combinations.