Blue Jackets News & Rumors: Johnson, Voronkov, Fantilli & More – Hockey Writers – Columbus Blue Jackets

Welcome to the last game in October for the Columbus Blue Jackets. They will host the New York Islanders in their Halloween game Wednesday night at Nationwide Arena.

With the win, the Blue Jackets will finish the month with a record of 5-3-1, an unprecedented feat. The Islanders, on the other hand, enter Wednesday night's game having scored only 22 goals in the first nine games and won only three. They are coming off a 3-1 home loss to the Anaheim Ducks in a game where they had chances but didn't finish.

In this game day edition of News & Rumors, we'll provide a few quick injury updates, exciting news and more. Then we'll discuss a developing theme with one of the Blue Jackets' rising stars.

Johnson Does Not Need Surgery

The Green Jackets got some great news. Kent Johnson will not need surgery on his injured shoulder. This is the shoulder he had surgery on last season.

To say that getting that news was a huge relief for Johnson and the Blue Jackets is a huge understatement. He will put in the work needed to heal and return at the right time.

The Blue Jackets don't give you deadlines these days. With an injury like Johnson's, it's very difficult to pinpoint a timeline though. The fact that his retail store is still in the room is a good sign that he has received good news about his upcoming recovery. Erik Gudbranson and Boone Jenner underwent surgery. Their stables are not in the room.

It will be a while before we see Johnson in action. But with him and the team avoiding the worst-case scenario, we may see him closer to the middle of the season than the end of the season. Given his reaction to the injury, that's great news for a player who's off to a hot start.

Voronkov Approaches

Some good news. Dmitri Voronkov continues to approach the game action. The Blue Jackets initially said he could return at the end of November. Although they haven't given an update yet, his presence in the activities and morning skates you can choose from is encouraging.

Whether or not Voronkov can transcend the original timeline remains to be seen. But from all indications, he seems to be close. It's going to be a matter of how you feel after the practices.

Voronkov was seen wearing an unrelated jersey at practice on Tuesday. He then skated with a team of his choice on Wednesday. His eventual return will give a huge boost, literally, to the show. When he's ready, expect him to go somewhere in the middle of six.

Fantilli Helping Shape Blue Jackets Culture

Adam Fantilli had a great night on Monday against the Edmonton Oilers. He scored on a nice feed from Cole Sillinger. He also set up Mikael Pyyhtia's first NHL goal.

If you saw Fantilli's post game on Monday, you saw how happy he was to get his first Pyyhtia. This is actually not only a habit of Fantilli, but also of other players in the Blue Jackets, especially Johnson and Sillinger. What is that practice?

“You'll never forget the first one!” 🚨@Cross country | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/SfedkOb5Ii

– Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) October 29, 2024

When your teammates do something great, join them in celebrating even if you didn't do anything special in the game. Let me correct the situation.

You May Love It Again

After the game on Monday, I met Johnson in the elevator. He could only talk about how happy he was with Fantilli and Sillinger each having great games. Sillinger was the second star in the game with a 1-2-3 night.

Fantilli said this is something he talked about with Johnson and Sillinger. Let him explain.

“Me, Silly and KJ went out to lunch and talked about things like that a few days ago,” Fantilli said. “(We've talked about) how big it is for us that we want each other to find that kind of success. When KJ had a three-point night and Silly and I had nothing, we're still happy for KJ that he was able to shut it down like that. It only helps our team if the younger guys start contributing more. I think that each other's happiness is contagious and helps the environment a lot. Culture helps. Buying KJ into that is great.”

This is the backbone of the young Blue Jackets who take the initiative to work together no matter what happens good or bad. If you needed proof of a healthy room, this is it.

Side dishes

• The Blue Jackets will play for the first time in a row next season on Friday against the Winnipeg Jets and then on Saturday against the Washington Capitals. Head coach Dean Evason said today there were no excuses for the linebackers. “If you can't play 25 minutes two nights in a row like a professional athlete, we have a problem.”
• The Blue Jackets are in the middle in scoring and fourth in goals per game. They need to ride the hot wave as far as possible before things cool down.
• The Blue Jackets will roll the same schedule Wednesday night with Elvis Merzlikins getting another start. Here are the lines and pairs for you to expect.
• Yegor Chinakhov-Sean Monahan-Kirill Marchenko
• Cole Sillinger-Adam Fantilli-Mikael Pyyhtia
• Zach Aston Reese-Justin Danforth-Mathieu Olivier
• James van Riemsdyk-Sean Kuraly-Kevin Labanc
• Zach Werenski-Ivan Provorov
• Jake Christiansen-Damon Severson
• Jack Johnson-Jordan Harris
• Elvis Merzlikins/Daniil Tarasov