Patrick Laine was placed on injured reserve by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday.
The forward is expected to be out 3-4 weeks with a sprained ankle.
The move is retroactive to Nov. 12, when Laine was injured during a 4-3 loss at the New York Islanders. He played 22:29 and was on the ice when the Islanders advanced Zach Parise scored 39 seconds into overtime. Laine has four points (two goals, two assists) in eight games; he missed six earlier this season with a sprained right elbow sustained against the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 12 that was expected to keep him out for 3-4 weeks.
“It’s a tough situation, adversity is going to happen,” he said Boone Jenner, the Blue Jackets captain and Laine’s linemate. “Obviously, very unfortunate for him just coming back from an injury, and it happens again. You can’t plan for that.
“It’s just unfortunate, but it’s time for us to get even tighter as a group. It’s an opportunity for some guys to step up, and everyone needs to play better in his absence.”
Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins is being evaluated for an undisclosed injury. He left in the second period of a 5-4 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, allowing two goals on 17 shots before being replaced by Joonas Korpisalo.
Goalie Daniel Tarasov was added to the roster on emergency conditions from Cleveland of the American Hockey League. The Blue Jackets are home against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; BSOH, TSN2, RDS, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Jake Bean left with an upper-body injury at 7:56 of the second on Tuesday. The defender and forward Emil Bemstrom (undisclosed) are each being evaluated.
The Blue Jackets are also missing their top defense pair Zach Werenskiwho was placed on injured reserve Tuesday and likely will be out for the season with a dislocated shoulder and torn labrum, and Nick Blankenburg, who is expected to be out 6-8 weeks with a fractured ankle and high ankle sprain. Each was injured during a 5-2 win against the Flyers on Nov. 10.
Forward Jakub Voracek is out indefinitely because of an upper-body injury he sustained Nov. 4. Columbus coach Brad Larsen said he’s “not even in the discussion right now.”
Forward Jack Roslovic took line rushes at practice Wednesday with Liam Foudy and Kent Johnson, but Larsen did not commit to him playing Thursday. Roslovic was a healthy scratch Tuesday.
NHL.com independent correspondent Craig Merz contributed to this report
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